Imagine the pain of a pounding toothache. Now imagine driving up to 100 miles to get it fixed. That’s the situation that once faced some residents of a tiny town in the Upper Peninsula. Now, after a nearly two-year closure, the clinic is back in business, and so is the Lansing-area dentist who treks 300 miles one way to work there. We talk with Dr. Richard Martzke.
Dr. Richard Martzke has run his own dental practice in Grand Ledge for more than 40 years. About five years ago, he began providing services a couple of days a month at a clinic in the tiny town of Engadine, about 50 miles northwest of St. Ignace.
In 2014, the clinic shut down, forcing patients to travel great distances to seek dental care. Now, the clinic is back, and its dentist has just returned from his first working weekend up north in nearly two years.
Current State talks with Dr. Richard Martzke and with Michelle Chapman, the office manager for My Community Dental Centers in Cheboygan, the company which runs the Engadine clinic.