"How fortunate I am to be in a profession that I love. I am blessed to be surrounded every day with fantastic patients, a fun but professional atmosphere and a team that is excellent at what they do and are a joy to work with. We (my wonderful wife, Mary, and I) feel we made a great decision to make this area our home and place of work. We have been embraced by the Lebanon community (where we live), and of course the Waynesville office has a special place in my heart because of my many years in the military. I grew up in Kansas in a small farm community. My wife, Mary, and I both went to Kansas State, so you may see a lot of purple around when you come in (Go Wildcats!). After graduating from dental school in Kansas City, Mary and I began our special years with the Army. We loved our time overseas and all the other places we were stationed, making lifelong friends along the way. My time in the military gave me a special appreciation for the jobs that those in the military perform; these people inspire me still to this day. When we were stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, we realized this was the area we wanted to practice in (when I say ‘we' – Mary is in the office every day). The combination of small rural communities and Fort Leonard Wood was the perfect mix. Our office in Lebanon opened in 1994, and we began treating patients in Waynesville in 1996. We opened our Camdenton office in 2015. We are fortunate to be involved in many worthy causes in our local communities. The latest is PAWS, an organization that assists financially when a pet is in need of medical care that the owner is unable to afford. When not helping create beautiful smiles, I am taking walks with Mary and our best buddies, Ozzie and Munchkin (in my opinion – the best dogs ever!); keeping up-to-date on the latest orthodontic information; traveling; and working on my flying skills. "You can have everything in life you want, if you will help enough other people get what they want." – Zig Ziglar Fun facts about your orthodontist: • Did you know Dr. Stryker has accrued over 2,000 additional hours of continuing dental education since completing his orthodontic training? • Did you know he has treated over 8,000 orthodontic patients? • Did you know he was on the Gong Show? • Did you know he is an instrument rated Pilot? • Did you know he went to Honduras on a mission trip? • Did you know he hiked the Grand Canyon and the Katy Trail? • He published his first book in 2015 and is already working on a second! Jobs Dr. Stryker worked at to pay for his schooling: • Army Reserves • Construction • Banquet waiter • Package beverage store clerk • Pizza Hut • Yard work • Bouncer (not a very good one – according to him)". Orthodontics