The downturn in the economy doesn’t seem to have deterred people from getting dental work done in Tooele County, though some dentists say the type of procedures done and the time of day some patients come in have changed.

One of the newest independent dental locations in the county is Southridge Pediatric Dentistry, which is run by pediodontists Russ Farnsworth and David Roth. Farnsworth and Roth recently moved their business into a 2,800-square-foot vacant building on Aaron Drive in Tooele the first week of November.

Farnsworth said they previously shared space at the building of Vine Street Dental Specialists before they began work out of their own local building, which currently has five patient chairs. The two also operate at another Southridge Pediatric Dentistry location in South Jordan during the week.

“Before we moved into our own building, we could use the Vine Street space only one or two days a week,” Farnsworth said. “Now that we have our own building, we can come to Tooele three or four days a week. We have seen our patient base grow since we moved into this new building, now that we’re not limited to just a few select days. We feel fortunate to be able to have more days to work out here, and Dr. Roth and I will switch off on who stays at the South Jordan office and who comes to Tooele.”

Farnsworth said an average of 20 to 25 children or teenagers — ranging from 1 years old to high schoolers — come into their Tooele facility per day. He said the valley has a need for more pediatric dentists.

“Tooele County is a growing community with a lot of younger families, and their are a lot of children out here who need to have their dental needs met,” Farnsworth said.

The preventive procedures performed at Southridge Pediatric Dentistry include X-rays, Profilaxis work and fluoride work, as well as treatment processes that include extractions, fillings, nerve treatments, and orthodontic space maintainers.

Other dentists in Tooele County have also still been finding patient success during the economic dropoff.

Shelly Whear, office manager for McConnell Dental Care in Stansbury Park, said things have been pretty steady at the clinic during the hard times.

“We haven’t noticed any significant decrease in patients, and other dental clinics I’ve talked to have said the same thing,” she said. “Peoples’ insurance have still been paying, and we get close to 40 patients in here when all three of our dentists are in.”

Maryann Hunt, administrative assistant for Rosewood Dental Associates in Tooele, said the necessity of dental work is what keeps people coming into her clinic.

“People are still coming to the dentist because they will always need checkups or have tooth problems. Right now being open five days a week, we still see about 60 to 70 patients a day,” she said. “I think with as fast as Tooele County’s growing we may see even a couple more dental clinics come in.”

Trisha Taylor, pediatric dentist for Dentistry 4 the Kids in Stansbury Park, said the reputation and popularity of her clinic has kept people coming in.

“We have been here for five years and have a stable base of patients, and many times insurance will cover the patient’s procedure,” Taylor said. “If it doesn’t, we’ll work out a payment plan with them. On Wednesday we had about 37 patients, which is pretty consistent for us.”

She added they are now even open on some school holidays, as well as one Friday and one Saturday a month.

Taylor said being part of a clinic that focuses on dental work for children has helped them stay busy.

“As people wait for their kids to get their teeth checked when they’re older, things can get more expensive and problems can go unnoticed longer,” Taylor said.

Dr. Hans Smith, who performs family, cosmetic and general dentistry in Tooele, said even though his number of patient visits has not decreased, the number of higher-end dental procedures performed has.

“We still see the same number of patients that we were seeing before the economy got bad, but now people have different demands,” he said. “Our patients have more focus on essential dentistry now, and less focus on more complex procedures such as orthodontic work, implants, or aesthetic and cosmetic work. The flow through the office is still the same, however.”

Dr. Shannon Lawson in Tooele said he’s noticed that patients have been more selective about the times they can come in for dental work. He said people are now more concerned about losing their jobs because of the current economic conditions.

“People are more concerned about their current job situation, so they’re more selective about taking time off work to get in here,” Lawson said. “They’re also using their benefits more fully. Unless they’re hurting or have a pressing issue that needs to get resolved, some people have waited longer to get dental work done because of their concerns on the economy.”

Lawson also mentioned people will always need to receive dental work, no matter how hard times get.

“Toothaches and cavities don’t just go away if you ignore them,” he said.

Doug Radunich: dougrad@tooeletranscript.com