Local dentist retires after practicing in Newton since 1967

Dr. Porter Hamilton has been practicing dentistry since the 1960s and throughout his time in the profession, he has grown and changed while watching Newton change with him. After 54 years of service, Hamilton has decided it is time to retire.

An Iowa native, Hamilton grew up in Hamburg and went to college at the University of Iowa where he also attended dental school. The majority of his 50-plus-year career was spent in Newton.

“Two years of it was in the Navy in 1965. I came (to Newton) in 1967,” Hamilton said.

Originally, Hamilton wanted to pursue an engineering degree. He enrolled at Iowa State University for engineering but had a quick change of plans to be near his high school sweetheart.

“My high school sweetheart was going to Iowa City, so I found out Iowa City had an engineering college, as well, so I followed her ... I soon discovered that I didn’t belong in that group,” Hamilton said. “I changed to dentistry because I had a good friend who had always wanted to be a dentist and he influenced me.”

There are plenty of places throughout Iowa where one can be a dentist but there aren’t many places like Newton with its size and relative proximity to the Des Moines area, which appealed to Hamilton.

Hamilton remembered when he was ready to be discharged from the Navy, he and his wife were looking for a place to live. His wife’s family lived in Des Moines but the two of them didn’t want to live in the city, just somewhere nearby.

“We were looking for a medium-size town somewhere close to Des Moines and an opportunity came up in Newton first,” Hamilton said. “Just a lot of things that you would consider good living, and the people were fantastic.”

Newton offered a lot to Hamilton when he first moved to town, which was during the time Maytag was still around. The town offered more than just the opportunity to practice dentistry.

“I love the people of Newton. I have a lot of good friends who aren’t just patients but good friends and always have, and that is kind of what Newton has to offer,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said, and it is no lie, that dentistry is a difficult profession because most people come into the office and don’t want to be under the drill, but even so, there were good parts of being a dentist for more than half a century for Hamilton.

“Helping people, just basically doing something that nobody wants done ... people come in your door that don’t really want to be there,” he said. “I guess I always wanted to be in the health care profession, and dentistry has been a fantastic career.”

Hamilton said during his time as a dentist a lot of things have changed. Areas such as the procedures dentists can do and the technology they use to complete each one have improved from when he started his career.

Hamilton will miss the people who come into the office and the building itself after he finally retires at 80-years-old but just because he is retiring doesn’t mean he won’t have anything to do, he has plenty of plans already lined up.

“I already renewed my passport so I’m probably going to do some traveling. My wife and I were collectors, we collected things that we enjoyed and we no longer have use for so I’m probably going to get on eBay and start selling some stuff,” he said with a laugh.

Hamilton may be retiring as a local dentist, but he has no plans to move out of Newton as he calls this home and has built his life here throughout the decades.

“It has been wonderful working with Dr. Hamilton ... We are going to try and carry on his tradition of compassion and excellent care,” Dr. Jeff Millet of Associated Dentists said.

“I love Newton, I love the people. I thank all of my patients for the years of friendship,” Hamilton said.

Contact Dustin Teays at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or dteays@newtondailynews.com