Meet Carley Janda and Cody Garrison of City Roots Dental in Highlands

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carley Janda and Cody Garrison.

Carley and Cody, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Our friendship started in August 2008 at the beginning of dental school at the University of Colorado, and we were quickly close friends who spent an obnoxious amount of time together. However, the concept of possibly opening practice wasn’t considered until five years later when Cody flew out to visit Carley during her hospital-based dental residency in Seattle. Over dinner, a discussion about our concepts of an ideal dental practice was so similar that we entertained the concept of someday opening a dental practice together.

Once Carley moved back to Denver following her residency (fun fact: call it coincidence or fate, over the past 10+ years together in Denver they have always lived within a 7-minute bike ride to one another!), she worked with Cody at a community health clinic and we found that our practice philosophy and work ethic were strikingly similar, so the concept continued to grow as we worked side by side.

Ultimately, one day one of us just looked at the other and said, “Are we doing this?” – and we never looked back.
Today, we are still close friends who also happen to share a business. (Fun fact: Cody was the officiant at Carley’s wedding in 2015, and is naturally referred to as Uncle Cody to her eleven-month-old son). We lean on each other for support through the happy and tough moments of life and make sure we carve out “friend time” that includes getting together with friends/family and doesn’t include discussion of City Roots Dental. We are both quite proud of what we’ve built but know there is much more to life than owning a business. Does this preclude us from sending a text at random times to discuss a thought about something practice-related – nope!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road definitely hasn’t been smooth, but we have always had complete trust in the other person which made it less stressful. It wasn’t blind trust, but something that developed over the years together. We’ve had the unique opportunity to see the other firsthand in many character-defining moments, from the stresses of dental school to the demands of the early years as a working professional. We knew to go in that the stats on long-lasting business partnerships where the owners also remained close friends were pretty abysmal, and we didn’t want to lose our friends or ourselves in this process. We had and continue to have many open and honest discussions. We’ve discussed our personal finances, the difference in our personalities and how they can both help and hinder our professional relationship, and anything else we were concerned might cause hard feelings/lack of trust in the future. We knew to discuss anything and everything, no matter how uncomfortable, would be key to our long-term success.

A one seemingly simple rule that paid dividends throughout the process was “only one of us can have a breakdown at any time.” So, if Cody called Carley sort of losing his marbles over something, Carley would be the one to keep everything calm and in perspective. It was nice to know that we both could be the reassuring influence for the other when there were unexpected expenses or another part of the project got behind schedule. There’s something calming about sharing in the such a daunting undertaking with someone else who has also proved time and time again in life, there’s no way I will let this fail! We both get a kick out of looking back at our spotty schedule in the beginning. There are such busy times now that we joke we wish we could get back (emphasis on the joke)!
One thing we are so fortunate to have not struggled with is finding and maintaining such an excellent team at City Roots. We often call ourselves the CR family, and we truly mean it. It’s fun to go to work every day when you’re surrounded by hard-working, compassionate individuals who embody the same mission as us.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about City Roots Dental – what should we know?
City Roots Dental is a general dentistry practice that treats anybody and everybody; likely what attracted each of us to public health service for the first six years of our careers. We have a mission to provide conservative, customized dental care to all of our patients. We’ve gotten a few questions recently about what we mean by conservative – we use that word to express that we aren’t concerned with providing extensive dental work that isn’t a medical necessity unless a patient expresses that desire to us, but with helping a person have the best oral health we can provide. We both grew up in small towns so the dentist was a part of the fabric of the community, and we wanted to bring that feeling to our neighborhood in Denver.

We like to think that we are known for providing excellent dental care in a comfortable, fun environment for people from all walks of life. Going to the dentist is terrifying for a lot of people, so we try to alleviate some of that stress by being ourselves and demonstrating to patients that we want what’s best for them, not what’s best for our bottom line. We firmly believe that dignity is a cornerstone of trust with a patient and a provider, so we do our best to bolster that relationship.

One of the greatest sentences we get to hear often is, “I didn’t know I could actually have fun at the dentist!” We are lucky that we have such a diverse, exciting patient population that makes going to work every day really fun. Referrals by existing patients are one of the main sources of new patients in the office, which we take as both a compliment and motivation to continue providing the best care we can to everybody.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Cody: I think most people would have called me a giant nerd; who knew nerd culture would become so fashionable a decade later? I grew up in a farming community of about 350 people, yet spent the vast majority of my time practicing the piano and involving myself in every extracurricular activity possible (partially to avoid working on the farm).

I had a family that was supportive so that the nerdiness was balanced with a sense of self-worth that has been instrumental throughout my life. In our house, the piano was in the living room along with the only TV, yet they all tolerated me practicing piano for hours on end while they “watched” shows in the evening (though I can’t say they always could hear the show).

I also come from a very humorous family, both immediate and extended, so *trying to* be witty and clever is something we all grew up doing. It has made adulthood really fun because it has helped me to find the humor in most situations.

Carley: I grew up as the middle of five children in the farming community of Sterling, CO. Being the third Janda to come about, I was constantly trying to keep up with my older siblings while nurturing my younger two. This created a bit of a dichotomy of an overly fearless, yet sensitive young soul. All within eight years of age, the middle was surely able to fly under the radar amongst the fun “chaos.” Looking back, I believe this allowed me to thrive in the most uncertain and uncomfortable times in this life.

Stemming from a small town, athletics were… the only thing to do at a young age. Today, the Jandas continue to be known for their playful competitiveness. I am ashamed to admit in the recent years we have weighed in before and after Thanksgiving dinner – though satisfied to admit I hold the record for the greatest gain. I refuse to ever play again.

My parents made a great effort to provide “cheap entertainment,” yielding lots of opportunities to learn perseverance. For example, many weekends we would load up in our Astro minivan with our 1964 Starcraft Pop Up camper in tow… which would rarely “pop-up” when we arrived at our cross-state location. The unfortunate trips continue to be our favorite to look back on. And sure makes it easier to find the bright side in the trying times of my life today. (Who thought I’d be thanking you guys for that someday?)

I stemmed from a family I wouldn’t replace, and today have my wife and son to thank for continued mischief, laughter, and adventures. Thank you guys for all the support and sacrifices you have made during the creation and growth of City Roots Dental!

Contact Info:

• Address: City Roots Dental
  4433 W 29th Ave, #206
  Denver, CO 80212
• Website: www.cityrootsdental.com
• Phone: 720-428-8916
• Email: info@cityrootsdental.com

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.