Coburn comes home to join local dentist office

Dr. Emma Coburn has been all smiles since returning to northwest Iowa to pursue her dream.

The new dentist joined Van Hofwegen & Munter Family Dentistry in July. A Hartley native and 2016 H-M-S High School graduate, Coburn has felt right at home thus far.

"It's nice to be around people who know you, care about you and say hi in the grocery store," she said. "It's been awesome seeing all the familiar faces."

After graduating from high school, Coburn attended Minnesota State University in Mankato and obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Bio Medical Sciences. From there she headed to the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics, where she graduated this spring.

Dentistry was on Coburn's radar since junior high. In seventh grade, her class was assigned a project to report on three careers that interested them. Her third choice was dentistry, which resonated with her.

"I had a friend who was in an ATV accident, which required her to get a lot of dental work," she recalled. "Learning about all the different things associated with dentistry really interested me and it just sort of stuck."

Coburn started shadowing Dr. Doug Van Hofwegen 10 years ago. The experience proved pivotal in forging her path in dentistry.

"He was always willing to introduce to me to patients and teach me things, which was really nice to have somebody local like that," she said. "He always reached out and was very supportive."

Coburn may be a new dentist, but she's not green. She was put through the ringer in dentistry school and has experience handling all sorts of oral issues in patients both young and old.

"I almost feel like I do less out of dental school because now I have a support staff to do things like labs, cleanings and other stuff," she said. "I love the variety of things I see on a daily basis working in a small town family office."

Coburn's first official day was July 8. Earlier this month, she started seeing patients each Monday at Van Hofwegen & Munter's office in Hartley.

Coburn said fellow dentists Drs. Doug Van Hofwegen and Josh Munter have been great mentors early on. Dr. Gary Van Hofwegen retired this summer, but he's no stranger to the office.

"I bounce questions off of them and hear different things," she said. "Everybody approaches things a little bit differently and it's good to learn things that I didn't specifically see in dental school."

Coburn said she enjoys the hands-on nature of being a dentist. She also enjoys getting to know her patients and easing their anxieties once they're in the chair.

"I love the people aspect of it and making people feel comfortable when they're here, because the dentist office isn't always a place that people like," she said. "I take that as a challenge to make people feel comfortable if they've maybe had bad experiences in the past."

Earning her doctoral degree and landing her first job in dentistry won't be the only life milestones for Coburn this year. She's slated to get married to her fiancé, Jake Wolf, next month. The couple resides in Spencer.

"He's originally from Garner, so our goal was to land somewhere close to both our families," Coburn said. "We're both small town people so we are happy here."

Coburn never expected that a seventh grade career project would lead her to dentistry, but she was happy the path brought her right back where it started.

"I always envisioned this as a great opportunity," she said. "I'm really glad that life led me back here. It's been an awesome start so far, and everyone has been really welcoming."