Dentaltown November 2020 - 40

In 2014, you purchased and
remodeled a former chiropractor's
office that was a block away from
where you practiced for about
15 years. Why didn't you choose
to remodel your old practice?
I had looked at all of the options over
the years. At one point, I was going to build
a new office, and then our daughter was
born and the new office became less of a
priority. Then I was going to stay where I
was and remodel, but that space was just
way too small, and I had already renovated
anything possible to do in a long weekend.
To do it comprehensively would have been
a two-month closure and I still would
have had too small of a footprint with very
limited parking.
Our remodel team was amazing to work
with and so helpful in the process. Our
banker was one of the first team members.
She showed us how affordable the project
would be and was with us every step of the
way-including bringing the champagne
to toast at the end of our first day in our
new office!

Five years later, you won the
ADA Design Innovation Award
in the remodel category.
How involved were you with
the renovation?
Very involved! The renovation took
10 months and the new office was conveniently located just one block down from
my previous office, so my husband acted as
the general contractor and was on-site many
times per day. I was on-site during lunch
and often after patient hours.
I fleshed out the floor plan based on our
digital workflow, new patient experience and
desired efficiencies with daily operations.
My team inventoried all of the equipment
we planned to move to the new space and
made their wish list so all could be considered

40

in the planning. Working in a nonideal
environment for so many years allowed me
to clearly envision what I wanted.
I visited Dentsply Sirona in Charlotte,
North Carolina, and they helped finalize
how to position my treatment rooms, because
I am left-handed but future dentists who
work here might not be. My childhood
friend's father is an architect and he took
my crude graph paper and converted it to
construction plans. He made the entrance
much more exciting by raising the roof and
installing impressive beams. His son and
daughter-in-law are also architects in Las
Vegas, and they sourced a light that is the
focal point of the reception area and the

carpet. They specifically named the interior
paint colors from my vague description.
One of my favorite parts of the design
aesthetic was the lighting. I designed the
lighting plan to layer the lights to transition
from the nonclinical areas to the clinical
areas. There are uplights and downlights
depending on what we want to feature.
There's a lot of task lighting, including in
sterilization drawers where cassettes are
wrapped. The team entrance has a switch
to turn on all hallway lights as they enter.
Lighting in the team locker room turns on
when they open the door, so we don't leave
that light on all day when no one is in there.
As they change into their uniforms and

NOVEMBER 2020 // dentaltown.com

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Dentaltown November 2020

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