On the Record With: McHenry County's first woman dentist

CRYSTAL LAKE – Pediatric dentist Kathy Schroeder came to McHenry County in 1979 to follow the customers, namely the families moving out of the city and inner suburbs.

She didn’t realize it at the time, but she was the first female dentist to set up shop here. And that first is not even close to the top of her list of accomplishments.

Schroeder, who retired several months ago from her clinic, First Smiles Dental, served as president of the Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce and its ambassadors program, the McHenry County Business and Professional Women, and the McHenry County Dental Society, and was active in the Crystal Lake Jaycees.

The business she started out by borrowing clinic time from a generous established dentist now employs four female dentists and 10 additional staff.

Senior Reporter Kevin Craver, whose 2-year-old daughter took her sweet time growing her baby teeth, met with Schroeder at Conscious Cup Coffee to talk with Schroeder, of Algonquin, about her time in McHenry County and her plans for retirement.

Craver: How did you come out here?

Schroeder: I grew up in Arlington Heights, but they were closing schools in Arlington Heights and opening schools in Crystal Lake, and that basically was my main reason to come here. The young families with kids were moving here.

Craver: Did you work for someone else at first?

Schroeder: I just worked out of his office. He very generously just let me use his chairs and put in a phone number until I got a suite to work in.

Craver: Being the only woman never presented you any problems?

Schroeder: No. The biggest problem was that I was single, shy and didn’t know anybody (laughs). The challenge wasn’t the all-male field. The challenge at the time was not knowing anybody out here, and it was the early 1980s. and if you think about the economy back then … .

Craver: I remember it. We went through a pretty bad recession.

Schroeder: When the economy is bad, unless you’re in pain, going to the dentist is optional. Things moved very slowly in the beginning. We didn’t have the Internet yet, and at that time, dentists couldn’t even advertise – you could put your name in the phone book, but there were no ads.

Craver: Was that a law or something?

Schroeder: No, it was accepted dental practice. It was really frowned on doing more than [listing in the phone book]. Getting people to know you actually existed was hard.

Craver: But they learned.

Schroeder: They learned.

Craver: Why did you choose pediatric dentistry?

Schroeder: I just really like kids.

Craver: What are the tricks?

Schroeder: One problem is that parents think that because I’m a woman, I have this magic wand that will make them behave. But kids eventually learn that dentistry is not a one-shot thing, it’s a lifetime thing. Maybe the first couple of times it’s not the best experience in the world, but they get over it and learn that what we do is not that invasive.

When they’re here the first time, maybe they cry, you hand them a balloon, they smile and realize that wasn’t so bad, and the next time, all they remember is the balloon.

Craver: How are you going to spend your retirement?

Schroeder: Painting, gardening, spending the winter in Florida and traveling. My husband and I are going to France next year.

Craver: What are you going to miss?

Schroeder: The kids and the relationships. I’ve worked with a lot of foster kids in McHenry County – that was one of my outlets for giving back when I first started here. Working with foster kids was great, and seeing kids develop … I can’t name names but there have been certain kids through the years, watching them grow up, get adopted … that was really rewarding.

Craver: Any plans to stay involved?

Schroeder: That I’m still figuring out. I would like to find an outlet to do something new, but it’s only been two months. Right now my activity is cleaning out closets and starting to minimize.

The Schroeder lowdown

Who is she? Kathy Schroeder, recently-retired dentist and the first woman dentist in McHenry County.

Family? Husband, Joseph Adamkiewicz.

Favorite food? Dessert.

Favorite dentist toothpaste flavor? Raspberry.