The Former Swim Coach Is Still Coaching, But Now As A Pediatric Dentist

The Former Swim Coach Is Still Coaching, But Now As A Pediatric Dentist

A former Delco swim coach trading circuit boards for baby molars is not the origin story you hear every day, and that’s exactly why this conversation stands out. Good Neighbor Podcast Delco host Bob Blaisse sits down with Dr. Rich Clark, the pediatric dentist behind Mighty Bites in Newtown Square, to explore how a love for coaching kids became a career devoted to their health, confidence and long‑term smiles.

Dr. Rich shares the pivot point from electrical engineering to pediatric dentistry, and how his father’s nudge, combined with years on the pool deck, sparked a calling. He walks us through his training at The University of Pennsylvania and his two‑year pediatric residency at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, where he later taught, led residents and guided the department through an intense accreditation stretch. That depth shows up in the way he handles anxious kids, supports families with special healthcare needs and translates complex care into simple steps parents can use at home.

This episode also dives into the vision for Mighty Bites Pediatric Dentistry: the bright, accessible practice near 252 and West Chester Pike in Newtown Square, PA, with the noticeable kid‑friendly shark mascot, open‑door policy for curious families and real attention to scheduling so parents aren’t waiting months. From the first tooth to the college years, Dr. Rich Clark explains how preventive care, habit coaching and timely referrals shape healthy outcomes. If you’re in Delaware County, PA and looking for a pediatric dentist who blends clinical rigor with a coach’s heart, this is a local story worth hearing—and the Good Neighbor pediatric dental practice worth visiting.

Mighty Bites Pediatric Dentistry
MightyBitesPD.com
facebook.com/mightybitespd
222.S. Newtown Street Rd. Newtown Square, PA
610-510-4592

--- About The Show--- Good Neighbor Podcast is a spotlight on local businesses in and around Delaware County, PA (“Delco” ) and Beyond...  The executive producer and host, Bob Blaisse, is a community sponsorship advocate, business branding specialist, and publisher of several hometown magazines, including: Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors, Marple Friends & Neighbors and Newtown Edgmont Friends & Neighbors, mailed monthly to more than 12,000 homes in Western Delaware County, PA, and also available for reading online.
 

Transcript

Welcome To Good Neighbor & Delco Roots

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, Delco. This is Michael Barkan. Welcoming you to the Good Neighbor Podcast, where fans of local businesses and their neighbors come together. It's my pleasure once again to introduce my friend and neighbor, our host, Bob Blacey.

Meet Dr. Rich Clark

SPEAKER_02 0:19

Hello, everybody. Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast again. I know you're listening to these many episodes that we've been doing now for almost a year. The Good Neighbor Podcast from Delaware County, Pennsylvania, coming to you from the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania. You know where that southeast corner is, just north of the state of Delaware and west of New Jersey, just below the city of Philadelphia, where the smallest of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania, lovingly referred to as Delco, short for Delaware County. And our goal here on the Good Neighbor podcast is to bring you good neighbor businesses from Delco. And some of them, some of them do business nationally, uh, most of them do business regionally, some really just from Delaware County, Pennsylvania. And this may be one of them that's uh, you know, a little bit of Delco and beyond, we call it. Um, it's a dentist, but something unique about this dentist when the net when the nomination came in, um, a lot of people recognize the name. There'll be a reason. We'll find out. And I thought, well, it's either a common name or the same person that people know. I'm not sure it can be that person because that's a young guy, but I think we have a young dentist joining us with a specialty. Let me bring to the stage Dr. Rich Clark. Rich, welcome to the program.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Thank you, Bob. How are you doing tonight? Thank you for having me, by the way.

SPEAKER_02 1:37

Well, thank you, and thank uh your patients or your family or friends and neighbors. But I Rich, I know your name because you uh well, you're a young adult. I would say that you're probably over 30, but under 40. Am I correct about that?

SPEAKER_01 1:51

I actually just turned 40 this year.

SPEAKER_02 1:53

Wow. Well, you're you're I'm seeing Dr. Rich here on the screen, the rest of us, everybody's listening, but uh he's a young good-looking guy that had a reputation in Delaware County for being, as I recall, Dr. Rich, uh, a pretty good swimmer, but but really also a pretty good swim coach, as I recall, correct?

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Yes, yes, thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 2:13

Well, Rich, I had heard that because I have sons in the in the age group and and they competed in swimming. So, you know, your name was out there, but I I gotta tell you that we lost track of what happened to Rich. You know, Rich Clark, the young man who went off to college to study some kind of science. I didn't know it was medicine. What were you were you always wanting to be a dentist?

SPEAKER_01 2:35

No, so actually, at first, I love math. I love science, but math was my real passion at first. So I went to college and got a degree in electrical engineering. Engineering. Electric engineering.

SPEAKER_02 2:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

And you're now a dentist. It was quite the journey. Um, it was actually swim coaching that got me more interested in dentistry because as I was finishing up electrical engineering, did very well in it, was getting some job offers, and nothing was really sticking with me. And I couldn't figure out why. And but I love being a swim coach. I love working with the kids. And it was my dad, who was an oral surgeon, who for years had been telling me, um, you should try dentistry. I just thought he would just, you know, was really wanting me to follow in his footsteps. But it was my senior year of college, and we were coming home from my grandparents' house, and I was like, none of these jobs are really clicking with me. As always, like swim coaching, uh, I love working with the kids, you can't really do that with electrical engineering. And he was like, You should be a pediatric dentist. And I don't know what it was then. It clicked, and I was like, you know what? You're right. And that that far along, I mean, I still graduate with electrical engineering degree and everything, but I switched over entirely to dentistry at that point.

Why Mighty Bites And The Shark Mascot

SPEAKER_02 3:50

Well, Dr. Rich, it's making sense now because when the when the nomination came through as Mighty Bites, I I didn't see the pediatric dentistry, but now now I get it that Mighty Bites, it's a cute, wonderful name. But uh, when I saw the logo, I thought, well, that's kind of different that a dentist would want to have uh name Mighty Bites and your character there. Forgive me for not being fully sure, but it's like a it's really like a friendly looking kind of shark, like right? A Mighty Bites shark, is that right?

SPEAKER_01 4:19

Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_02 4:20

Kids are gonna love that. I mean, kids are gonna love that. It's like Casper, the friendly ghost. Now we got Mighty Bites, uh, the the friendly shark. Is he is he got a name or is that his name? Mighty Bites.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

There's no name yet. We've uh spitballed a few names. Um, I'm thinking like maybe in the next month or two, like having some sort of contest with the kids and like all my patients, and see if we can find a permanent name for this guy.

Training, Teaching, And Leadership At St. Chris

SPEAKER_02 4:43

Well, let's lay this out now because I have a feeling that we've connected a couple of dots. We're gonna come full circle here now. It's starting to all make sense. We're talking to Dr. Rich Clark, who is a um native of Delaware County, uh, and I recall it's like the uh Marple Newtown area of Delaware County, was a well-known swimmer and then swim coach into his 20s for uh young children who loved him, as I recall. And uh, Rich, I make sense now that your dad would see you in that really love and hobby for all those years, and then you know, every parent worries about their child when they graduate and they're in a job and they're not happy with it and a technical job like that. But to make that switch to become a dentist after studying to be an engineer, yeah, you had to have a passion for um really what is now your your love and passion, pediatric dentistry. Tell us a little bit, Rich, if you can. Where where did you choose to uh kind of break into this? Is this is this your first level of dentistry practice? And and where is your practice in Delaware County now?

Opening The Newtown Square Practice

SPEAKER_01 5:46

So my practice is in Newtown Square, uh right along 252, close to the intersection of 252 and Westchester Pike. Um so this this is not my first stop. So I uh I graduated many years ago from uh from Penn as in dental school. And I went to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in North Philadelphia. Um, because when I was looking for residency for pediatric dentistry, it's a two-year program. Um, I wanted to stay local. I'm a I'm attached to Philadelphia, the sports teams, the area, the people. Um and so when I finished up there, I I worked at an office a little bit in Swalphmore, worked at an office in Pottstown for three years. Uh, but my real passion, like with swim coaching, uh, was teaching. And I loved my residency at St. Christopher's. I loved their mission there. It's fantastic. And so I was invited to come back and teach there part-time, and that kind of grew into eventually a full-time uh gig as the associate program director. And then last year, for about nine months, I was the actual my the former director retired, and I came on as the interim uh director of the entire department there to kind of get them by. I was already starting this office, I was busy with this. Um, but they had this kind of transition period where they really needed someone to take over. Um, I won't get into get into it all, but we had a big accreditation uh uh come coming up that happens every seven years for our whole program, a lot of paperwork, whole site visit. Um, so I stepped in during that time and was the interim director for all that. And uh they finally found like a permanent guy, so I was able to step back and fully focus on my office just this past September, finally. That was the dream to have your own practice.

Who Pediatric Dentists Treat And When

An Open Door For Families

SPEAKER_02 7:29

And boy, did you get teed up for it with all that administrative uh work and and also still being in the in the area of uh you know leaning into uh pediatric dentistry uh in your future? So, so Rich, I think I know that um place in Newtown Square, it's a little shopping center that's uh along 252 heading into Newtown Square after after crossing over that reservoir in um in the Brumwall area, and and there's a shopping center there, there's a pizza place, uh fresco pizza along there. And is that the shopping center there on South Newtown Street Road where you're located? And do you have a sign that says Mighty Bites? Is it is it that big is it that big? Okay. You'll love it. Uh if you're if you're in the Delaware County area, and I guess I'm speaking to the moms and dads right now, because if you're uh um in need of a pediatric dentist, and when I say need, and I went through that with four kids, it's not just the need for a dentist, but it's a need for a dentist that can see you because some of these dentists are very busy and it's hard to get appointments. I know we used to we used to register for summer checkups, you know, in March, you know, to get ready for the summer. We have here a new but well-known uh pediatric dentist who's come back to his roots in the Marple Newtown area. If you're listening in the Delaware County area and you're you're recognizing the name Dr. Rich Clark, you might be recognizing the name Rich Clark first. Uh pediatric dentist now, Dr. Richard Clark, has opened up his own practice. Mighty Bites Dentistry is the name of it, pediatric dentistry. And if you'd like to uh take a look and see what Dr. Rich or Rich Clark looks like at 40 years old, you can see him at his website. So you want to just go to um Mighty Bites PD for Pediatric Dentistry. Mightybytes PD.com. And uh you'll see the practice, you'll be able to learn about it and see Dr. Rich. But more importantly, there's a phone number there and there's a way to actually register for an appointment. And you'll be able to get an appointment for for your kids. This is exciting, Rich, because you're a young guy who who um loved to teach children, and you're now teaching children how to take care of their teeth. For for my benefit here, if you could, and our listeners, pediatric dentistry, tell me when it begins and when it ends. Is it are you seeing 18-year-olds or older because you've been seeing them for years? Is that how pediatric dentistry works, or they drop off in high school and go to a different dentist?

SPEAKER_01 9:53

I'll see them up until after college, usually. So it starts it, it starts as early as birth. Um, they recommend, they usually recommend now that you the kids start coming around six months or about the time of the first tooth. I say try to get me, uh, try to get in to see me around like one, two years old. Um, but then yeah, I'll see them all the way through their teenage years through college, um, especially with special needs patients, uh, patients with special healthcare needs, they might stick with me even longer.

SPEAKER_02 10:24

Wow. You know, Rich, I have to tell you that um, and I should say Dr. Rich, that's the formal that I want to keep here. But, you know, I have to say, Dr. Rich, there's gonna be a lot of, I think, moms or even moms that remember you uh from being a young person, they're not as young as they thought they were anymore. They have kids, they need a dentist. How about yourself? Everybody's gonna be wondering is uh is Dr. Rich himself a dad worrying about the teeth of his children yet?

SPEAKER_01 10:52

Oh yeah, I I have four kids at home. Four four little handfuls. Yeah, four little handfuls. Yeah. They're fantastic, all the way from the youngest is three years old, the oldest is ten years old.

SPEAKER_02 11:03

What a great life to be able to be uh doing what you love and love what you're doing, and now doing it under a fun umbrella of uh not only teaching dental health to children, taking care of problems, giving people a smile. Uh, not just the children whose teeth you're able to make look better, but really the parents who need to know that when I bring my child into the dentist, I'm worried because it could be a little bit of drilling or pain or here and there, and the kid's nervous. You need a good bedside manner. And I think we can hear, even on this episode here, Dr. Rich Clark, a wonderful good bedside manner. Uh, and why not? If you're gonna be if you're gonna be serving children and you're loving what you do, it's just gonna come out and people are gonna recognize it. I recognized it when I saw that name and I thought, what can this be? Mighty Bites, pediatric dentistry, the the brainchild of a new uh pediatric dentist that's come back to Delaware County to open up his practice for really the the service that he loves in serving children, serving families. Rich, one final thought that I'd like to kind of ask you if people are looking to um how can I say this gracefully, but if if people have a pediatric dentist and and they've never thought about changing because it's kind of like, well, why would I change? But I'd like to see I'd like to see Dr. Rich Clark. Is that allowed in your industry? Do do dentists, do pediatric dentists kind of get concerned, you know, like you're already going there, and I think I know that guy or that woman, that dentist. Um, why don't you stay where you are? Or are you inviting anyone that would like to start fresh with pediatric dentistry in your family to come see you?

SPEAKER_01 12:40

So I think a lot of dentists, a lot of pediatric dentists, especially, we are doing this for the kids. And so we want the kids to go where they're comfortable. We want the parents to be able to go where they're comfortable. So we're totally fine with them. If they if they want to go try a different office, they find, you know, they have a place that that might be a better fit for them. We totally welcome them to you know to try that. So I'm welcoming everyone who wants to come by, give it a try. You don't even have to schedule an appointment. If you want to come by and visit, I'm totally fine with that too. See what the office is about, see the space. Um, have the kid come and play my my waiting room. That's uh my the uh my front desk coordinator, Megan, would love the uh the um yeah, the the entertainment and the uh you know the opportunity to learn and to see other kids.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

It seems like a fun place. It seems like what pediatric dentistry has to be, but boy, I can tell you're doing it well. And uh I can tell you love it. You know, we would ask sometimes a guest on the Good Neighbor podcast, if you weren't doing this, what would you be doing? Not gonna ask that because Dr. Rich has done it in reverse. We have a college graduate from Penn who studied engineering and uh tried it out, but thought, you know what, my passion is in training children. And um, but I've got a good brain and I'm gonna use it for the the good service to families. So he's done that. He's changed his career years ago, but became a pediatric dentist and he's returned home for Mighty Bites. Mighty Bites Pediatric Dentistry at 222, South Newtown Street Road in Newtown Square. Dr. Rich Clark, what a wonderful business you have brought to our town. Truly a good neighbor business, no doubt. And I want to thank you for your service to the community. Thank you for coming back home, and thank you for uh bringing your pediatric dentistry skills to Newtown Square. Thank you for being a guest on the Good Neighbor Podcast, too, Rich. Really appreciate it. It was fun.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Yeah, thank you for having me. I had a blast too. It's so good seeing you.

SPEAKER_02 14:34

Thank you. Good night.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

Good night. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast, hosted by Bob Lacey. This is Michael Barkan, inviting everyone to get on the Good Neighbor team. Nominate your favorite local business to be featured on an upcoming episode by going to gnpdelco.com or by calling Bob at 610 557 3745.