Dr. Beau Sparkman, DDS: Orthodontics and Sleep Dentistry in Fort Smith and Roland

He came home to practice, and he never left

Dr. Beau Sparkman is a Sequoyah County native. He went to high school in Muldrow, studied pre-med at Sterling College, and earned his DDS from the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry in 2011. Then he did the thing that fewer dentists do than you would think. He came back.

He owns Valley Family Dental and sees patients at both the Fort Smith and Roland offices. If you grew up around here, there is a decent chance he knows the road you live on.

Straightening teeth and helping people breathe at night

Two areas take up most of Dr. Sparkman's attention.

The first is orthodontics. He treats with traditional braces, Invisalign clear aligners, and Myobrace, and he is a member of the American Orthodontic Society. What sets his approach apart is the Myobrace piece, which is habit-focused treatment for growing children. Instead of waiting until a ten-year-old's arch is already too narrow and then widening it with hardware, Myobrace works on the tongue posture, the swallowing pattern, and the mouth breathing that made the arch narrow in the first place. It is slower thinking, and it asks more of the family, and for the right child it changes the outcome.

The second is sleep. Dr. Sparkman is a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, and he treats sleep-disordered breathing with custom oral appliances, including EMA and ProSomnus devices, for patients who cannot tolerate CPAP or want an alternative to it. He uses 3D CBCT imaging to look at the airway itself rather than guessing from the outside.

The connection between the two is not a coincidence. A narrow arch and a crowded airway are frequently the same story told at two different ages. Diagnosis of a sleep disorder comes from a physician, and candidacy for an oral appliance is determined at consultation. Results vary.

Where he trained and who he answers to

• DDS, University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry, 2011
• Pre-med, Sterling College
• American Dental Association
• Arkansas State Dental Association
• Oklahoma Dental Association
• Fort Smith Dental Association
• American Orthodontic Society
• American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine
• Academy of General Dentistry

Outside the office

Dr. Sparkman is married to Paola. They have two children, Elizabeth and Lucas, and most of what he does outside of work involves one of the three of them.

He serves on the board at TheBOD.church. He cooks, which his staff can confirm because they have eaten the results. He plays golf with more enthusiasm than his scorecard justifies. And he is a Sooners and Thunder fan, so if you want to derail an appointment for ninety seconds during basketball season, you now know how.

Patients tend to describe him the same way. He explains things. He does not rush. If you tell him you are nervous, he slows down instead of talking faster.

What a first visit with Dr. Sparkman is like

He will ask what is bothering you and then let you finish answering. He will look, take the images he needs, and tell you what he sees in plain English, including the parts that are fine. If something needs treatment, you get the plan and the cost in writing before anything is scheduled, and you are allowed to go home and think about it.

If you have avoided the dentist for years, tell him in the first two minutes. He has heard it many times.