Today's Business: Gregory Ganzkow, DDS

Dr. Ganzkow, Karen, and Lori, in the waiting room

Today's Business

Dr. Gregory Ganzkow, "Best in Shoreline 2013"

Text and photos by Marc Weinberg

When is the last time you heard someone say what a nice, relaxed and comfortable time they had at their dentist’s office? Maybe never! Well then, they haven’t been cared for by Dr. Gregg Ganzkow and his wonderful staff, office manager / wife Karen and dental assistant Lori. 

The caring treatment begins when you call Karen to make your appointment and then the unexpected starts the moment you walk through the office door. You question if you are in the right location because you walk into a comfortable living room setting that you’d expect to find in a friend’s home. There’s the warm glow of the lighting and a fireplace, as well as the automatic ‘you brew it’ cartridge type coffee maker and a large TV with local programming. Other decorations include a wonderful display of dentistry cartoons. Karen explained that having been in practice twenty-eight years, she and Dr. Gregg have made long term friendships with most patients and want everyone to feel like a friend when they come for a visit.

Karen is the first person you will meet on the phone
and in the waiting room

And speaking of comfort, wait until you jump into Dr. Gregg’s latest and greatest exam chair! I have nicknamed it ‘the Floating Cloud’. It is ergonomically designed so well and moves so smoothly you feel like you are drifting off on a cloud as you recline. This is something I’d love to have on my next long airplane trip.

Now that you know how great the waiting room/living room is, what about Dr. Gregg? He was born and raised in Washington and as a kid had so many cavities that he was a regular visitor at his dental office. Because his dentist encouraged him to learn about good dental health, he told his parents at age six he wanted to be a dentist. In spite of some momentary thoughts along the way about astronaut and pilot, he stayed on course with a degree from Gonzanga University in chemistry (high honors) and biology, followed by dental school at UW in 1982. After doing his residency in Texas, he returned to this area and saw patients in a ‘mobile dental practice,’ bringing his skills to seniors and patients who were homebound and unable to travel to an office. He cared for people with Alzheimer’s, HIV, and some who were quadriplegic or suffered from neurologic trauma. 

The team around the "floating chair" - Lori,
Dr. Gregg, and Karen

He brings the same dedicated service and concern into today’s practice that he began with 28 years ago. You will be special, treated like a friend or family and find that he is a totally a ‘hands on’ doctor. He’s the only dentist that I’ve ever known who insists on personally cleaning a patient’s teeth. He uses an ultrasonic method that is fast, thorough, and painless, which usually results in far less scraping (if you’re doing a good job of brushing too). He does not employ a hygienist to do that. He wants to see the condition of your mouth from start to finish. He is a dedicated specialist in Gnathology (the study of how ones mouth moves and functions, the physiology, functional disturbances and the treatments. 

Dr. Ganzkow was the President of the International Dental Fraternity Delta Sigma Delta in 2009. KING 5 placed him in the Top 10 Best Dentists in 2012, and in 2013 he received Shoreline Dentist of the Year award.

Gregory Ganzkow, 18528 Firlands Way N, 206-542-3535 (north of 185th street near Fred Meyer.)