01 October 2011

Whether they're big game hunting in Africa or helping to treat people with serious gum or tooth problems, life is never dull for Sean and Cathy Avera. The couple, who have been married since 1980, work together at the periodontal practice they have owned since 1993. Sean is a periodontist specializing in bone grafts, soft tissue augmentation for people with gum problems, preparing sites for dental implants and treating people who are losing teeth. Cathy, who trained as a dental hygienist, now works primarily as the clinic's treatment coordinator.

Though he established his dental practice in 1993, Sean began his career in dentistry many years before. In 1979, he began working as a dental lab technician, and then went on to become a part owner of a dental lab in Costa Mesa. Eventually, he took a position at UCLA's maxillofacial clinic, specializing in making prostheses for people with major facial trauma or cancer. Before long, he'd decided to become a dentist himself, and he attended dental school full time while continuing to run the maxillofacial prosthetic laboratory and research lab.

Sean and Cathy have also passed on their interest in dentistry to their two children. Their son, Dan, works as his father's surgical assistant, and their daughter, Erika, is currently studying cellular physiology at the University of Montana, Bozeman. She eventually hopes to follow in her father's footsteps and also become a periodontist.

Today, Sean and Cathy―who met in a botany class at California State University, Long Beach, in 1977, live in Grass Valley. In addition to their dental practices in Auburn and Grass Valley, the Averas also own a ranch where they raise Black Angus beef cattle. They keep several horses on their ranch, since both enjoy trail riding with friends.

When they're not busy running a thriving business, the couple makes time to indulge in their favorite activity―hunting. Sean comes from a family of hunters, and Cathy took up the hobby after they got married. Now, they try to do as much hunting as their busy schedules will allow, including dove, pheasant, elk and deer. In 2009, their passion for hunting even took them to Africa.

"We don't hunt anything that we don't eat," says Cathy, though that wasn't the case during their Africa trip. "We got to taste everything we shot over there, but unfortunately you don't get to bring it back."

In addition to hunting, Sean and Cathy are involved in a variety of volunteer and charitable activities, including the Rotary club in Grass Valley, the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, and doing volunteer work on Indian reservations and with orphans in Mexico. Until recently, the couple was also very active in the Future Farmers of America (FFA). Both their children were heavily involved with the organization, and Sean and Cathy wanted to give back to the group that helped their kids. Though they've scaled back their involvement with FFA as their children have gotten older, they still sponsor kids who have limited funds by giving them an animal off their own ranch.

With their busy personal and professional lives, the Averas have no plans to retire anytime soon (though they are planning another trip to Africa in a few months, this time to indulge in their other hobby of photography). "We like what we do―we're having a good time," says Sean. "I'm only 55. I've got a ways to go yet."