Desert Southwest Oral & Facial Surgery, the only clinic of its kind in the Cortez area, is looking forward to serving patients in the Four Corners in 2024 as they mark their first anniversary in Cortez.

Before the clinic opened in January 2023, the closest clinic for Montezuma County residents to receive care for wisdom tooth removal, oral surgery and facial surgery was in Durango and in severe cases, in Albuquerque.

Dr. Justin Sikes and his wife moved to Cortez in 2007 from Georgia to work in Shiprock at the Navajo Medical Center. Sikes worked as a dentist at the center for four years before being chosen to do an oral surgeon residency from 2011-2015.

“When we first moved out here, we wanted to be here for five years and then go back to the Southeast, where we’re from,” Sikes said. “But we kind of fell in love with the area and just felt called to be here and led to be here.”

Soon, Sikes began to feel a pull to open a practice in Cortez.

“I just felt God calling me to open a practice here, provide services to Cortez in the Four Corners area, a little closer to the Four Corners than has been provided in the past. That’s what kind of led me to do this,” Sikes said.

After buying the building and renovating for two years, the practice opened part-time last January. In July, Sikes left Shiprock and began working at his Cortez practice full-time. Now, the clinic has seven staff at 33 N. Elm St. in Suite B.

Services include oral surgery, wisdom teeth removal, pathology and implants, mentioning that he hoped to work with the hospital to be able to do operations on clients with more severe injuries that can’t be easily handled in the clinic such as facial fractures and infections.

Right now, the clinic is open three days a week, Tuesday through Thursday. Sikes said he has patients from Cortez, Durango and Farmington.

“People are pretty excited to have these services that haven’t been provided in the past,” Sikes said. “Most people I’ve seen are excited we’re here so they don’t have to go to Durango. It makes me so happy to hear that.”

Sikes pointed out that the health of the mouth affects the rest of the body.

“The mouth is connected to the rest of the body,” Sikes said. “Things like having your wisdom teeth out creates less chance of infection in your mouth, which protects your teeth and also protects your heart and all these other things. And that’s getting people early care and making sure they have access to care.”

Ultimately, Sikes said he hopes that Desert Southwest Oral & Facial Surgery will serve the community and staff who work in the clinic.

“I want people to know that we’re here to serve them and that the heart of my practice has been to serve the community, serve the staff and for my staff to serve the community as well,” Sikes said. “I want my staff to understand that they’re appreciated, and I want them to have a happy place to work and to leave work knowing they did some good and that we had fun while doing it.”

“For the people coming in, I want them to know that we’ll work our hardest to serve them and to celebrate them and for them to know that we’re here for them,” he said.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, email dswofs@mdofficemail.com, call (970) 516-4100 or visit online at www.desertsouthwestofs.com.