Davidson completes purchase of Greybull Dental
Dr. Samuel Davidson spent Monday becoming acclimated to his new surroundings at Greybull Dental.
The Burlington native and 2010 BHS graduate closed on his purchase of the practice on Friday. He took over for Dr. Tate Anderson, who announced on the business's Facebook page that he had accepted a position as a dentist at another location.
"I would like to thank all of my patients in Greybull and the surrounding communities for entrusting me with their dental care for the past 4 years," Anderson wrote. "The decision, although hard, I believe is the right one for me and my family."
A seamless transition is expected. Davidson indicated all the clinic's existing employees are being retained and that he's looking to add some front-office help in the coming weeks.
Davidson met his future wife while enrolled at the University of Wyoming. Ailina Smith, a 2008 Greybull High School graduate, was attending Utah State at the time. Davidson joined her there, eventually earning a degree in nutrition science.
At the time, he knew he wanted to work in health care. He chose a path, opting to enroll at the Creighton School of Dentistry in Omaha, Neb. He graduated in 2021, and without a great opportunity in this part of the state, chose to accept a job at Advanced Family Dental of Casper.
He's been there the past couple of years and admits that he wasn't really considering a change until he was contacted this past spring by Tate's brother, Dr. Lance Anderson, wondering if he might be interested in the Greybull practice.
"Things were going well in Casper — it was a big, busy office — and my initial thought was no," said Davidson. "What finally led us to the conclusion that we should do it is ... you only get one life and we really wanted to live up here and be closer to family.
"There were pros and cons -- there's risk in buying a business and I had security of that job in Casper, but being around the people I know and grew up with, knowing that this had been a great place for me to go to school and wanting my kids to have the same and play sports made it the right call for us."
Samuel and Ailina have four children — McKenna, 8, Jens, 6, Cheyenne, 3, and Josie, 6 months — and they're currently renting in Burlington. Eventually, they will buy a place of their own. Precisely here has yet to be determined, he said.
Samuel is from a big family himself, with four brothers and a sister. His father, Matt, is the superintendent of schools for Big Horn County School District No. 1, which includes Burlington schools.
He said he's not planning any significant changes to the dental practice.
"I want people to know that I want to take care of them, that I'll do my best to serve them and be a reliable dentist who will be here long term, decades, and not move on."