Founder and Dentist, Ghareeb Dental Group
By Maggie Hatfield
Sami Ghareeb, the founder of Ghareeb Dental Group, is proof that sometimes even the best laid plans go awry. Luckily for him—and his patients—things worked out even better than he initially imagined.
“My original plan was to come to the United States to further my education and then return to Lebanon after receiving my doctorate,” he says. “I met my lovely wife, Kay, during my schooling at West Virginia State University and became involved in the local community while working at my uncle’s grocery store in Poca. It was then I decided to start my career in the U.S. I knew I wanted to serve my new community through the health care field.”
Ghareeb earned his doctor of dental surgery degree from Meharry Medical College and a fellowship and mastership from the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD). In 1975, after he had completed his education, he decided to open his own dental practice. This proved to be one of the biggest challenges of his life as he had to work full time at the dental clinic at the West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services to earn an income while working evenings and weekends to start his practice and build clientele.
Ghareeb has grown that first 500-square-foot office space in Poca to five locations that now include South Charleston, Cross Lanes, St. Albans and Teays Valley, all of which are family run.
“My greatest joy in practice is witnessing the success of my sons and sons in-law at their own Ghareeb Dental Group locations and the family legacy we have established in dentistry in West Virginia,” he says.
Over the last 44 years, Ghareeb has fulfilled his promise of serving his community through health care. In October 2001, he helped found the dental clinic at West Virginia Health Right, which continues to serve residents in five counties. He remains hands-on with the clinic by volunteering several Fridays a month, and he has created a culture of giving back within his practice to ensure the doctors and other staff members volunteer as well.
His community service doesn’t stop there. He also leads Ghareeb Dental Group in providing free dental screenings for participants of the Special Olympics in Charleston every year, as well as Mission of Mercy’s annual events. He has also served as the director and promoter of the Putnam County Dental Health Council in Eleanor since the 1970s, benefitting both locals and assistants in training.
Ghareeb’s dedication to helping communities through dentistry goes beyond West Virginia. He has a track record of volunteering at remote area medical clinics and helping establish clinics where none existed before. In the 1990s, he donated dental equipment to a small volunteer health clinic in Africa so it could start a small dental clinic for emergencies. He and his team traveled to Kenya to set up the clinic and train locals on performing basic dental procedures. His practice also raised money to purchase dental equipment and set up a clinic in the remote village of Beka’a Valley in Lebanon. In 2017, he and his wife went on a dental mission trip to Peru through the AGD.
Ghareeb, a self-described lifelong student, is also passionate about education. As such, he serves as the continuing education coordinator for the West Virginia AGD, and he welcomes the opportunity to mentor dental students in his practice.
“I have been fortunate to have many mentors throughout my educational career, including my Uncle Aftimos Ghareeb in Beruit, my Uncle Mike Corey who welcomed me to West Virginia and my professors at West Virginia State University who encouraged me to apply for a scholarship at Emory and eventually dental school at Meharry,” he says. “Likewise, I consider it a great privilege to influence the early career choices of students and illustrate the ability to achieve success here in West Virginia.”
He is appreciative of those who helped him get his start, especially his wife, Kay, who is the most influential person in his life. “It is only because of her love and support—along with her hardworking attitude in raising our five children during my training and while building my practice—that we have been able to achieve success in our lives.”
Although Ghareeb has great pride in his Lebanese heritage, West Virginia is home for him. He is grateful to the people of the Mountain State who welcomed him with open arms and supported his practice.
“West Virginia has been good to my family, and we are ever grateful,” he says. “I hope that one day my grandchildren will follow in my footsteps by serving their fellow West Virginians in the field of health care.”
West Virginia Health Right
At West Virginia Health Right, the mission is to provide quality medical, dental, pharmaceutical, vision, behavioral health, health education and mobile dental services to low-income West Virginians. Although its flagship location is in Charleston, last year West Virginia Health Right provided services to nearly 28,000 individuals in 34 south-central West Virginia counties. West Virginia Health Right also has a mobile dental clinic that travels to Boone, Clay, Harrison, Logan, McDowell and Roane counties.
West Virginia Health Right was founded in 1982 at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Dr. Sami Ghareeb, president of the West Virginia Academy of General Dentistry, and Dr. David Walker, president of the Kanawha Valley Dental Society, met with the director of the Kanawha County Health Department to discuss a safe space for AIDs patients to receive dental care. It was in this meeting that the idea of the dental clinic was born.
In the beginning, the clinic was staffed by a volunteer group of approximately 57 people. Today, West Virginia Health Right has more than 400 volunteers from both the medical and dental fields as well as management staff in Charleston. According to its website, the dental clinic treated 5,000 patients last year and its pharmacy fills an average of 250 prescriptions per day.
