Dentaltown July 2019 - 50

office
visit
TMD treatment was to find. My local orthodontist, Dr. Joseph
Yousefian, successfully treated my case. Working with him led
me to the Dawson Academy in Florida, where I learned how
form and function are intimately related. That led me to learn
more about occlusal reconstruction and, ultimately, replacing
what was damaged with something beautiful and natural.
So, the teachings evolved in a stepwise manner when I was
ready for the next piece of information. In order to rebuild the
smile, I first had to learn the foundation, the joint, bite and
function, and then the aesthetics came naturally. The American
Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) was the icing on the
cake. After working with the academy, I learned the finesse of
the cosmetic components. I believe we meet everyone in our life
at the right time and when I was ready, my teachers appeared.
You recently moved practices in hopes of creating a more
efficient way to deliver care to your patients. How is your
new practice laid out to help you achieve this goal?
My previous practice originally belonged to my mentor,
the dentist that I worked for in high school. It was laid out for
a left-handed dentist and designed for the way dentistry was
practiced decades ago, and the equipment and technology were
antiquated. Dentistry can be challenging enough without having
to maneuver left-handed and be a plumber and mechanic. The
final straw was when one of my orange 1970s treatment chairs
began to smoke. I wanted to be able to focus on complex care
of my patients, not complex care of my equipment and space!
With so many components to complex restorative and
cosmetic dentistry, I needed everything within arm's reach, no
matter what type of procedures were needed for each patient.
More importantly, I wanted my patients to have a seamless flow
of treatment in a clean, comfortable environment. Most design
experts were recommending the traditional open, two-entry
operatories, but these rooms were filled with dental cabinets and
opportunities for inefficiency and clutter, which didn't represent
my goals for seamless, complex treatment. This meant thinking
of nontraditional ways to lay out the practice-essentially,
fewer operatories, with closable doors and single entries, and
multifunctional rooms. It was challenging to find someone
who would listen to what I was looking for and have an open
mind about the possibility of having clean, private efficiency.
I had to listen to my inner self-knowing and not accept what
was being offered as the "right way."
Your practice is very modern and technologically advanced.
Tell us more about the operatories and how they help you
maintain a seamless workflow.
While I was exploring design options, I was fortunate
to meet Matt Ehrenstrom from Sirona, who showed me an
office design that was congruent with my vision. Much of it
revolved around the treatment centers-instead of putting in

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JULY 2019 // dentaltown.com
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Dentaltown July 2019

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