Dr. Pamela Kelch practicing dentistry in Clarion for 25 years

Since 1970, Dr. Lowell Skinner’s dental practice helped keep Clarion residents healthy and smiling. Twenty-one years later, his daughter, Dr. Pamela Kelch, joined him, and over the course of 25 years worked alongside him and took over the family business.

Kelch, who grew up in Clarion, said she always knew she would go into dentistry. “As a kid growing up, we were always around the dental office,” she said. Kelch has three brothers, and two of them also went into the field as a general dentist and an oral surgeon.

Back in 1970, the office was at a different Main Street location. Since Kelch joined her father in 1991, the office has been where it is now, across the street from the library. Kelch said that 25 years ago, the building was about one third its current size, and they’ve had to expand over the years.

After 25 years, Kelch still enjoys what she does. “I find it very gratifying to start out with young kids, with their first dental visit,” Kelch said. Some of her early patients now have children who are her patients, too.

For the full story, see the July 8 edition of the Monitor.