The year was 1976, when a fresh-faced young dentist eager to put down roots, aimed to find just the right location to open up his very first practice. Dr. Thomas Warguska had just wrapped up a two-year stint in the Navy down in Beaufort, South Carolina when he received a tip from a dental supplier that New Hampshire held much promise. With a baby on the way, Warguska and his wife Adriane decided to head north to the area they heard would be the ideal place to raise a family.

Merrimack was a growing town back then when he first set up shop in a small building on DW Highway just doors down from King Kone. With a hand painted sign in front, the early days were a family affair, with Adriane serving as office manager and their newborn daughter tucked under the reception desk.

“I remember standing in the window watching cars going by thinking, ‘I hope someone stops,'” Dr. Warguska recalled of those first months when he opened his practice.

Eventually they did, and through word of mouth “Dr. Tom” as he was fondly known by his patients, gradually began to build a substantial and loyal patient base of Merrimack families. Just four years later, he outgrew his space and moved the practice to Loop Road where he would continue to care for patients and families for the remaining decades of his career.

This past April, on the cusp of his 70thbirthday, Dr. Warguska officially hung up his white coat after slowly transitioning his practice over to good friend and colleague Dr. Harjeet “Harry” Brar. Loop Road now serves as the second arm of Brar Family Dentistry which also has a site in Nashua.

“I’ve known Tom for over 15 years and he’s someone I’ve always looked up to, both personally and professionally,” said Dr. Brar who bought the practice from Warguska in 2018. “We are both very like-minded as providers and it’s an honor to be able to carry his legacy forward as we continue to innovate and become a state-of-the-art practice.”

By his own estimation, Warguska has served well over 4,500 patients over the four decades he’s been practicing in town, including three generations of some families. He’s also provided free care to children over the years who were unable to otherwise afford treatment, as well as dental care to veterans.

“I came to Merrimack without knowing a single soul and opened my doors to this wonderful community,” Dr. Warguska remembers. “Now it’s time for me to step back a little bit and start thinking about the next steps in my life. I’m very fortunate to leave my patients in the very best of hands with Dr. Brar and his team.”

In his retirement, Dr. Warguska hopes to travel with his family, continue with his over 15 years of volunteerism at the Nashua Soup Kitchen, play a little golf, and enjoy the perks of grandparenthood.

And he’s set his sights on finding the perfect canine companion to one day join his side.

“Throughout all these years in Merrimack, my patients became my family – each and every one of them,” Dr. Warguska recalls. “I knew all their stories and I cared for them. I’m just so incredibly grateful for the trust they put in me.”

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