Dr. Gary Hopper - Retirement: Looking Back 

Published by: Dene LeBeau 

On March 23, 2016, Gary Hopper performed his last dental procedure at the Palm Desert dental office. Gary is one of the original Kois mentors and his dentistry epitomizes the excellence taught at the Kois Center. I first met him in 1995 at a dental meeting in Aspen, Colorado when he asked me if I would do some work for him. He took great effort in explaining how he was merely average in every way, but loved his employees and patients, so he was motivated to always do his best. Our long conversation left me convinced that I had just heard the essence of HUMBLE, spoken at a perfect pitch that was coming from the very heart of this man who now had me dying to work for him!

The small cases came first and he did not disappoint. Impressions so clean that they appeared to have been taken over a typodont model. Fig. (A)

The anterior work was much the same high quality with beautiful preps and impressions that allowed me to perfectly identify the margins by breaking the soft tissue stone away with my fingers. Fig. (B) We soon learned how much his staff and patients loved him and it was easy to tell by looking at his cases, Gary had gathered a great team of specialists to support his vision of excellence.

Gary and his staff were a winning combination and the beautiful smiles and personalized treatment provided a steady flow of new patients. The practice became so successful that they began restoring #6 through #11 on a routine basis the same way most practices restore molars. Fig. (C-D-E) 

​The practice drew a wide variety of patients from dentists to dental employees; the general public and they even restored a number of high profile celebrities. The good times rolled on for that truly great practice and my lab was blessed to be part of it for over twenty-one years. Gary Hopper’s dentistry is awesome!

A few years ago I was giving Gary and his beautiful wife Erica a ride from the Sea-Tac Airport to the Kois Center. Crammed in the back seat of my BMW, Gary was in a hurry to get out of my car as we arrived. Thinking that the back seat door was unlocked, Gary began to apply serious pressure to the door handle and sure enough, he ripped it right off of the door, then calmly handed it to me.

At the dealership the following week, the mechanic said, “I have never seen this happen before, this guy must be a powerful dentist, you should give him a trophy.” I took that as great advice and you can view the door handle mounted on his personalized trophy...Fig. (F&G)

Humble people are most likely confident and competent in themselves so much that, as a result they seem to self-actualize by helping others. To be humble is not to think less of oneself, but to think of oneself less. That description fits you perfectly Gary and as you read this, I am certain that your mind will race to assign the credit of your success to all of us around you. On behalf of your patients, staff, peers and friends, thank you from the bottom of our hearts because you touched all of our lives in a positive way. You are a great leader, a loyal friend and one awesome dentist. We will all miss you!

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