Glenwood Springs Celebrates Murray Dental Group's 40th Anniversary

Glenwood Springs —The wind off the Elk Mountains usually carries a bite by late summer, but inside the Murray Dental Group office at 1512 Grand Ave., the air is still and cool. It’s a quiet corner of Glenwood Springs, far from the tourist crush of the downtown core, yet it has been a steady fixture for locals who need their teeth fixed, their kids’ braces adjusted, or just a quick checkup.

On Friday, that quiet will break. The practice is hosting a 4 p.m. celebration to mark 40 years of Dr. Robert Murray operating in town, and 50 years since he first opened the doors in Minnesota.

It’s a milestone that feels significant for a town that often prides itself on resilience and continuity. But it’s also an indicator of a specific kind of business model: one that prioritizes relationships over volume, and community service over sheer profit margins.

“The thing I like the best is meeting the people and interacting with the people,” Robert Murray said.

That sentiment hasn’t changed since 1986, when Robert Murray left Minnesota after visiting a friend — longtime Glenwood Springs city manager Mike Copp — and decided to pack up and move west. His son, John, was in first grade at the time. John grew up here, graduated from Glenwood Springs High School, and eventually followed his father into dentistry.

Now, John runs the show. And while the landscape of healthcare has shifted dramatically, the Murray approach remains stubbornly, and perhaps refreshingly, human.

“Getting to come back and reconnect with people that were my mentors,” John Murray said, “and now I’m taking care of them as the doctor… has been awesome.”

The math holds up, too. The practice has grown from 10 employees to nearly 25. They opened a new branch in Rifle in early 2026. They’ve survived the pandemic, the regulatory squeeze, and the general chaos of modern small business.

“Running a small business has no shortage of challenges,” John Murray said. “With increasing regulations and COVID-19 pandemic, dentistry has become ‘much much more complicated than it was when I started.’”

Yet, they’re still here. And they’re still giving back.

Every Veterans Day, the office closes its doors to regular patients. The staff stays, but the revenue stops. They serve veterans for free all day, cleaning teeth and doing the work that needs doing.

“That’s my favorite day,” said Dawn Pozorski, a hygienist and office manager. “They are so grateful, it’s a special day.”

This Friday’s celebration isn’t just about cake and champagne, though there will be plenty of both. It’s also about giving back to the community that gave them a home. Murray Dental Group is offering a comprehensive “smile makeover” to a community nominee who “made a positive impact through service, kindness, dedication, or sacrifice.” The recipient will be announced at the event.

“We’ve been here in Glenwood Springs for 40 years and try to support the community as much as we possibly can,” John Murray said.

For locals, that support is tangible. It’s the free cleaning for a veteran down the road. It’s the familiarity of seeing the same faces in the waiting room for decades. It’s the knowledge that when you walk into 1512 Grand Ave., you’re not just another chart number.

Despite the red tape and the rising costs of doing business, the Murries are betting on the old ways. They’re betting that people still value a doctor who knows their name.

“Taking care of people the way they’re supposed to be taken care of, without getting caught up in all that red-tape and bureaucratic stuff,” John Murray said.

It’s a simple promise. But in a healthcare system that often feels like it’s moving too fast to keep up, it’s one worth keeping.