Fox Family Dental

The motto at Fox Family Dental in Cape Girardeau is to "treat people like family," and that goes for patients as well as employees.

"If you treat your staff like family, they'll stay with you," says Dr. Bob Fox, who opened his practice on Broadway in 1975. The office moved to its current location on North Kingshighway in 1986 and completed an expansion in 1996.

And for Dr. Bob, his staff also includes family. His son, Dr. Jim Fox, joined him in the practice five years ago.

"It's the best-case scenario. I get to see my son every day. He grew up in Cape and grew up around a lot of the ladies who work here," says Dr. Bob.

Adds Dr. Jim, "Dad developed the relationships; sometimes we have three generations of patients, and they feel like family to us."

Dr. Bob and Dr. Jim Fox pose for a photo at Fox Family Dental Thursday, June 4, 2015 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

Dr. Jim Fox pulls up a set of x-rays on a computer at Fox Family Dental in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

Dr. Bob says he chose a career as a dentist because he wanted to do something health-related and help people at the same time. He adds that dentistry itself is often the easy part of the job; it's running a business that can be a challenge.

"What I like most is the mixture of art and science," says Dr. Jim. "We're making people healthy and also helping people feel better about themselves."

Technology is the biggest change the Foxes have seen in dentistry over the years.

"The dental materials themselves are much better than they were in the '70s and '80s. Now it's digital everything," says Dr. Bob.

After four decades in business, he still doesn't see retirement in his near future.

"It's 40 years now that I've been doing this and I still love it. I just thank God that I'm in great health and that I can keep doing it," he says.