Steven Ash believes it was divine intervention that led him down the path of a 45-year career in dentistry.
During his senior year at Pacific Lutheran University, he was still unsure about which direction to go in life.
“I thought about medicine but I was not interested in dentistry,” Ash recalled. “I had been praying a lot about it, and one day I just felt like the Lord spoke to me and it just stopped me in my tracks because it was such a crazy idea when he said, ‘have you considered dentistry?’”
Ash went on to graduate from the University of Washington School of Dentistry and never looked back. This month, after 45 years in the profession, the dentist at Ash & Roberts dental office in Centralia has stepped down to working just one day a week and plans to soon hang up his drill for good.
Ash turned 72 this month and had tentatively planned on retiring around this age, but health issues that arose earlier this year have also affirmed that timeline. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in January but after chemotherapy and various other treatments, he said recent tests are optimistic.
“I can’t tell you how many people have prayed for me,” he said. “There’s still a tumor but it hasn’t spread and it’s shrunk some. I feel great but time will tell. I’ve looked at this as kind of a faith journey and I just have a lot of peace and trust in the Lord.”
As a child, his earliest encounters with the dental profession were challenging.
“My mom selected a dentist who worked on us without anesthetic,” Ash recalled. “It’s so ironic that I became a dentist but really that shaped my career and has motivated me to do my best for my patients because I remember what it was like to be apprehensive about dentistry.”
Ash grew up in Olympia, the son of a contractor who would later help him build his current office on Borst Avenue in Centralia. He’s the oldest of four brothers, a role that he said influenced him to become a youth mentor for decades at Grace Foursquare Church in Centralia and a local youth sports coach.
“From a young age, I liked mentorship,” Ash said. “With my three younger brothers, I always thought if I worked with them a bit they’d have a leg up, so as an older brother I just liked working with them and thinking about how I can help them succeed.”
Soon after graduating from UW, Ash moved to Lewis County and soon started his own office in Centralia. He moved the facility to its current location in 1994 after building the office with help from his father, a contractor.
“We’ve been here ever since and have been able to customize and remodel it so we were able to expand it a bit,” he said. “It’s been really great and we were able to accommodate a second dentist, Dr. Roberts.”
Ash has been voted “Best of Lewis County” multiple times, but he is most proud of the long-term relationships he developed with patients over the years.
“So many patients have been with me for 45 years, and it’s just been so gratifying to see their kids grow up and then later they bring their grandkids in,” he said.
He points to relationships with staff and colleagues as equally rewarding. His office partner doctor Brian Roberts has worked with him in recent decades but they first met when Roberts was a child, as a patient of Ash.
The business’ office manager, Josh Prigmore, has known Ash for many years.
“He has a contagious personality that just makes you want to spend time with him,” Prigmore said. “His faith is absolutely the cornerstone of his life. It has guided him on how to love his family well, conduct business in our community, and how to treat people right.”
More information on Ash & Roberts DDS
Address: 2409 Borst Ave., Centralia
Phone: 360-736-8380
Online: ashandroberts.com
