On Sunday, February 10, 2019 at 12:44:27 PM UTC-5, Davej wrote:
My house has some sort of modern tongue-in-groove plank-style
wooden floor throughout the entryways, breakfast area, and
kitchen, installed over the plywood sub-floor. I like the fact
that wood is a comfortable surface for bare feet, but don't
like the fact that every spill of water can be a problem and
every dropped utensil can create another dent or gouge. Any
suggestions?

Suggestions for what? Replacing the wood floor? Or ideas to prevent the problems you cite, leaving the floor there? If it was me and the floor was in good condition, I'd just enjoy it and look at the positives. Like everything, there are tradeoffs.