Dr. Theresa Casper-Klock is the exception. Since age 9, Casper-Klock has dreamed of becoming a dentist. She can’t pinpoint an exact reason for her passion but admits she was always intrigued by what her childhood dentist did and used to go home and inspect all of the fillings that she received.

“I probably had the worst teeth in my whole family,†Casper-Klock said with a laugh.

“But I loved what he (the dentist) was doing.â€

Since graduating from the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Buffalo in 1990, Casper-Klock has been running her private practice, CK Family Dental. The office is located at 33 William St., Suite #1, Auburn.

She enjoys several aspects of her career and particularly likes that many times, it’s an instant gratification field.

“One of the best parts of my job is when you see something that’s broken, you can fix it,†she said, citing filling cavities as an example.

Other times, the fix isn’t so quick, but she likes the challenge of thinking on her feet during emergencies or more complicated procedures. “The mouth is very diverse,†Casper-Klock said. “It’s almost like doing a jigsaw puzzle every time you look in there. Each one would present its own challenge.â€

It’s also rewarding when she is able to change someone’s negative feelings toward den-tistry. It’s not uncommon for people – be they children or adults – to come into the office with some trepidation. When that occurs, Casper-Klock and her staff try several strategies to calm them down.

“I think a lot of patients do really well if you don’t rush them and if you explain what you need to do,†she said, recalling an 11-year-old boy who had just conquered his dentistry fear that morning. Casper-Klock is the only dentist at the practice, but she has five support staff – including her husband, who does the books – to help her.

Together, they have seen dentistry change quite a bit over the last 18 years. Casper-Klock notes oral cancer screenings and replacing teeth with titanium implants as procedures that are more prevalent today than just a decade ago. Another area of improvement is that most dentists now use white composite resin instead of silver amalgam fillings.

“People want that million-dollar smile now,†Casper-Klock said. “They don’t want to see silver when they open their mouth.â€