Dr. Kathryn Marks: I'm Dr. Kathryn Marks. I'm the owner and doctor of Marks Orthodontics in Muskegon.

Keith Marks: My name is Keith Marks. I'm co-owner of Marks Orthodontics and Dr. Marks' husband.

Dr. Kathryn Marks: Through my experiences of being a doctor in different avenues — in a lot of different states as I traveled with the Air Force — I just kind of made note to myself of all the things I liked in offices and things I didn't like. Coming to any dentist can feel a little scary, and so as a mom, I try to think about how my kids would feel. How would they feel walking in? I just want them to feel warm and welcome with smiling faces. We wanted a family-friendly place to come to get your braces or get your Invisalign.

Keith Marks: In terms of what the experience has been like so far — it's been a dream, honestly. Getting to work with my wife every single day has been amazing. She's fun, she's smart, she's funny. But more than just my experience, getting to make those relationships with patients and see the change they go through — their confidence and their willingness to smile when we're done with those braces — is just incredible.

Dr. Kathryn Marks: It's really important that we're a family-owned business, that I'm the owner and my husband is here with me, and we're working to make it the best experience we can for your family. I want you to be able to talk to me every appointment. I'm going to see you every appointment. You'll have the chance to ask me questions — how's it going, any additional information — because I truly want to get to know your family and see how I can help you.

Everything that we do, we do it with the idea of: is that what we would want for our kids? We want to make sure that everything we're suggesting — every treatment option, even every visit — is focused around them and something we would want our kids walking into. If we don't feel like our kids would have fun with it or that our kids would be okay with it, we absolutely don't do it.

We're striving every day to make sure that every person who walks in here feels the same comfort that our own family would feel. A huge priority of ours is to make sure that patients are having a good time when they're here. We have a little bit of a reputation for being fun. My goal is to be a positive light in their life for the little amount of time that I get with them.

We offer free consultations, and that's really important to me — because I want you to be able to come in with no pressure and just see what your smile could be. I can tell you the ideal timing, what it would involve, and you can decide how much or how little you want to get involved. I also think it's really important because we treat families, and many times there are multiple children. One might get a referral, but a parent is thinking, "Great, they need it — what about my other two?" So many times we'll have parents come in and I'll check out all the kids, or even the parents, and tell them, "This is what I think. Here are the windows of ideal opportunity, and I would maybe prioritize it this way if you're interested." We can have that private conversation so parents can make it work into their lifestyle.

If you're interested at all in orthodontics, give us a call. We're happy to have that free consultation and give you a plan — let you know what the best course of action would be. You can visit our website for more information, or you can give us a call and we'd be happy to set up that appointment for you.

Keith Marks: I really love this community. One of the things I love most is that these kids come in and I get to spend time with them, meet their families — and they start out kind of shy, maybe not wanting to smile or embarrassed about their teeth. By the time they finish, they have just the most beautiful big smiles, and they're dancing out the door. That's something I want to continue giving to this community for many more years to come.

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