Perhaps you’ve dialed up your dentist’s office a time or two to reschedule an appointment. It stems from one of life’s evergreen challenges – predicting your schedule six months in advance to know when you can show up to work late (or leave early) for a dental checkup. Then there’s the dread of wondering when the next available appointment might be. Dentists are constantly in demand, after all, and you might need to wait weeks or months. It’s an anxiety-inducing ritual, as innocuous as it may seem.

We called The Dentists at Gateway Crossing in McCordsville, Indiana, on Monday afternoon, but not to reschedule an appointment. This was an impromptu appointment to discuss Dr. Matt Vogt shortly after he conducted a pre-tournament press conference at the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, which preceded the media availability of major champions Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele.

No, Vogt isn’t the official dentist of the U.S. Open. He’s in the field after qualifying on "Golf’s longest day" with a 36-hole score of 8-under 136 in Walla Walla, Washington. Further amplifying the narrative: He grew up outside Pittsburgh and caddied (!) at Oakmont for five seasons in his formative years.

The story needs no sensationalism. It’s a modern-day U.S. Open fairytale.

“Even as I just talk about it now, I get sentimental on it,” Vogt, 34, said Monday.

So this reporter called Vogt’s office, located roughly 20 miles outside Indianapolis, to gauge his colleagues’ reaction to their workplace entering the news cycle in an unlikely fashion. The Dentists at Gateway Crossing is widely respected in the digital marketplace, with an average 4.9 out of 5 rating across 593 Google reviews. A sample:

“Dr. Vogt and his team are the most caring and supportive team I’ve ever encountered.”

“I go in a nervous wreck because I have anxiety and they have a way of easing it … Thank you Dr. Vogt you guys are doing great things.”

“Dr. Vogt made suggestions for the recession I was having with my gums and came up with a treatment plan and began implementation immediately.”

The receptionist fielded our call and was quite friendly but respectful of Dr. Vogt, saying she preferred not to comment on the record without clearing it with the doctor. This was totally understandable of course, but did we want to throw a further wrench in Vogt’s early week preparation for the U.S. Open? No.

She was happy to take our number, check with Dr. Vogt and call us back. "No, no," we said, noting we don’t want to create a twist in Dr. Vogt’s week on our behalf.

"Are you sure?" she said.

... Absolutely.

Although not as robust, Vogt’s story can be told without a voice from his office, largely thanks to his Monday press conference at Oakmont. And the receptionist’s brief comments, friendly yet respectful of her doctor’s privacy, indicated a bubbling excitement for the week – yet perhaps underplaying the full scope of attention that Dr. Vogt has received this week at Oakmont. Vogt has juggled several tasks in the intervening week since qualifying for the U.S. Open on golf’s longest day: Preparing his game for Oakmont’s well-documented rigors, reacquainting with old friends from the Oakmont caddie yard, fielding Instagram messages sent by area friends from his Pittsburgh youth, arranging time to meet the media, and so on. When one’s entire childhood reconvenes in one week – amidst the backdrop of achieving a dream that borders on fantasy – no, we didn’t want to complicate the madness.

The write-ups have been countless – in addition to staples like Golfweek and Golf.com, a quick Google search yields results from CBS News, Sky Sports and The Irish News (the latter’s headline reads “Matt Vogt: Business booming at my dental practice after U.S. Open qualification”). Go find those stories for more substance and color on his remarkable journey; it’s worth your time.

The nuts and bolts: Vogt grew up as a solid junior golfer and Oakmont caddie, where he was allowed to play on Monday evenings and largely took advantage. He attended college at Butler University, where he briefly competed on the golf team but never seriously considered turning pro. After graduating from Butler with a biology degree, he attended the Indiana University School of Dentistry, and he opened his own practice in 2018. He does his clinical tasks two to three days per week (dividing the work with colleague Dr. Maria Summers) and consults fellow dentists on starting their own practices.

“I also help other dentists through basically consulting to help them learn how to start and grow their own practices,” Vogt explained Monday. “We don't learn that in school. We learn how to be great dentists. It's hard, and I hope to help people learn from my mistakes.”

Vogt also enjoys competing in amateur golf tournaments but isn’t exactly a world-beater; he currently stands No. 2,078 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He has never ranked higher than No. 1,173. Hence, his chances of qualifying for his hometown U.S. Open looked to be the longest of long shots.

But for this U.S. Open, Vogt wanted to put his best foot forward. So after advancing through Local Qualifying in Columbus, Indiana (closing with back-to-back birdies to avoid a playoff), he flew out west to compete at the Walla Walla qualifier (he had heard the lengthy Wine Valley Golf Club suited his game, where he could hold greens with high long irons; he also wanted to avoid the qualifying sites that were stacked with PGA TOUR pros like in Ohio and Canada). Vogt’s strategy paid off, and he achieved the week’s ultimate Cinderella story – at the event tailor-made for these stories with its everyman qualifying format, where any amateur with $200 and a Handicap Index not exceeding 0.4 can sign up for Local Qualifying, which then leads to Final Qualifying, which then leads to the U.S. Open.

Just one thing stands in the way of the perfect week. Vogt’s dad Jim, his biggest supporter, recently passed away from colon cancer. The younger Vogt would’ve loved nothing more than to have his dad along for every step of the way at the U.S. Open, which famously concludes on Father’s Day.

The silver lining is that Vogt is a new dad himself; he and wife Hilary have an infant daughter, and the family will create countless memories throughout the week. It was also announced Tuesday that Vogt will hit the 125th U.S. Open’s opening tee shot at 6:45 a.m. Thursday, grouped alongside Kevin Velo and Trent Phillips. The USGA is always good with these things – mini-tour pro Michael McGowan, a Pinehurst native, hit last year’s opening tee shot at Pinehurst No. 2 – but this one reaches a new level of relatability. Oakmont’s caddies can watch and envision themselves in a similar position someday (the U.S. Open is scheduled to return to Oakmont in 2033, 2042 and 2049) – and anyone who has sat in a dental chair can enjoy the thought experiment of their dentist competing in America’s national open. It’s the epitome of U.S. Open magic.

Back to The Dentists at Gateway Crossing. No need to clear an interview with Dr. Vogt, we have determined. No additional distractions on our behalf. But we couldn’t help but ask one housekeeping question: "Are you aware that Dr. Vogt is playing in the U.S. Open this week?"

The receptionist paused, laughed and delivered a gem of a response:

“If I wasn’t, I’d be lost in life.”

That concluded our virtual dental visit – without any appointment changes requested. Vogt might face some personal rearranging when he returns to the office next week, but that’s an issue for a later date. It’s time for the good doctor to live his dream.

“I knew that it was an absolute pipe dream to get here,” Vogt said Monday. “It is for the best pros in the world, let alone amateurs.”

Let alone dentists.