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It took a Buckhannon girl to bring Dr. Joshua Henzler back for good. He met his wife, Katie, at West Virginia Wesleyan College, and a winding career and two kids later, the couple has come full circle — this time with a dental practice of their own on Main Street.
Henzler Dental marked its first year on Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting hosted by the Buckhannon-Upshur Chamber of Commerce. Henzler bought the practice from Dr. Michael Miller, who ran it for more than 30 years before handing over the keys.
“He allowed us to purchase the practice from him and take it to where we have it now with Henzler Dental,” Henzler said. “It was a really smooth transition with Dr. Miller. Great guy, and we really appreciate him.”
Henzler never expected to be on the road to Buckhannon — and back again. He grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to parents who had both attended West Virginia Wesleyan College. When his own turn came, he initially didn’t want to follow in their footsteps.
“Honestly, my mom and dad went to Wesleyan, but I did not want to,” he said. “I said, ‘Absolutely no way am I going to Buckhannon.’ But I ended up here, and I loved my schooling here. I loved it. Then I married a girl from Buckhannon, and it’s just awesome to be back. It all comes full circle.”
Katie, the daughter of Ann and Doug Bush, grew up in Upshur County and graduated from Buckhannon-Upshur High School. Henzler credits her with keeping the entire business going — right down to the phone call that started it.
“The brains behind the entire operation, and the whole reason I’m here, is Katherine,” he said. “She’s the one who encouraged me to call Dr. Miller to even ask, ‘Hey, doc, would you be interested in selling your practice?’”
The full circle had a lot of stops along the way. After Wesleyan, Henzler went to dental school at West Virginia University and then spent about a decade at practices in Pennsylvania and Morgantown before landing at the office in Buckhannon.
The moves were hardest on the youngest members of the family. Henzler and Katie have two children, 10-year-old Virginia and 8-year-old Beau, plus a 5-year-old French bulldog named Bettie.
“We’ve been to four or five houses, four or five moves, four or five different offices, and they’ve persevered through it all,” Henzler said of his kids. “It’s been hard on you guys, but we appreciate it.”
“You’re home now,” someone in the crowd called out.
“You’re home now,” he agreed.
A year in, the practice has not needed much help getting noticed. Henzler said Henzler Dental has been quickly adding new patients, mostly by word of mouth.
“We have so many new patients, and most of that’s been word of mouth — just from patients loving us, ” he said. “The community has embraced us and accepted us. It’s been awesome.”
“My wife, being from here, she knows a lot of people — just about everybody, it seems like,” he added. “It’s different when you have a family than when you’re here in college. It’s peaceful. It’s just a beautiful town.”
The office at 86 East Main Street, Suite A, is taking new patients, “everyone from two to 102,” Henzler said. The dentist handles general, cosmetic and restorative dentistry. The phone number is 304-472-8598.
For a teenager who was determined to avoid Buckhannon, Henzler has come around completely.
“It’s funny how you think life is going to go one way and it goes a completely different way,” he said. “We’ve made it a year, and hopefully it’s smooth sailing from here.”
