MINERAL COUNTY — The Mineral County Dental Clinic changed hands on May 16. The practice and the equipment from the clinic were sold to Dr. Eric Smith and Dental Hygienist Leslie Leggett.

The decision to sell the clinic first established in 2014 by Mineral County was one that took months to consider.

“This was not an arbitrary decision. We spent a lot of time, discussion and thought on it. It became obvious to me for one, that the business model that we set up was not realistic. COVID was partially to blame but there were other things as well,” stated Mineral County Commissioner Scott Lamb.  

Mineral County Commissioners signed paperwork to finalize the sale of the clinic during their meeting on May 16 and heard public comment about the venture.

First to speak was Lori Dooley who said she was concerned that the clinic was being sold to a business that was not going to be accepting some insurances that the previous clinic did. She also said the sale price was far below what the clinic was previously thought to be worth. Though the numbers referred to by Dooley could not be verified at that time.

Other concerns brought to the board included whether the contract specified that the new owners were obligated to maintain ownership of the practice and equipment. Commissioners stated that it was not part of the contract.

“Part of this was accepting copiability for what happened. The solution to us was to wash our hands of it and put it in somebody else’s court for them to do with it however they saw fit,” continued Lamb. “I think if you met this dentist, you may change your mind. He swayed our opinions."

Mineral County agreed to sell the equipment for an estimated $20,000 and the new clinic, Creede Dental Works, will lease the space from the county.

The previous dentist, Dr. Mike Martin, announced his retirement earlier this past year and since then efforts by Mineral County and Dr. Martin to find someone to move into his position, resulted in Dr. Smith from Pagosa Springs, and Leggett, the dental hygienist that has worked for Mineral County for the last three years, partnering to purchase the dental practice from Mineral County.

“Mineral County is thrilled to announce that the new partnership will assume ownership as of Monday, May 16. They will be operating under Creede Dental Works. Obviously, they won't be moving locations and will continue their practice at 802 Rio Grande Ave., Creede, CO. We encourage all patients, current and former, to give them a call at 719-658-0322 to find out what's new with schedules and policies. We are very excited to be able to have a competent and professional dental practice in Creede which has been our ultimate goal since Mineral County Dental Clinic was born in 2014. Again, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to call the clinic or to call the Mineral County Administrator's office,” county officials stated.

Creede Dental Works is hosting an open house on Sunday, June 12 beginning at 4:30 p.m. at Antlers Rio Grande Lodge and invites the public to meet Dr. Smith. The event will also include a retirement farewell for Dr. Martin and a chance to learn about the new clinic from the new owners.