Logistically Speaking
In July 2008, Dr. Wilmore opened her new office – a five-operatory practice just minutes away from her home. “The dentist I’ve been going to since I was 14 is in a multi-story professional building and that’s what I was used to,” Dr. Wilmore says. “When it came time to think about my practice space, I automatically knew I wanted a professional building.”
The office previously housed another local dentist, so plumbing and wiring were already in place. Equipment Specialist Skip Fortune and the Patterson team enlarged the waiting area and added a patient restroom to the front of the practice. With guidance from Dr. Wilmore and her husband, the Patterson team transformed a straight hallway leading to the operatories into a gentle curve, which gives the illusion of more space and also adds to the privacy within the practice.
The existing lab, which was quite large at 600 square feet, was cut down in order to reconfigure all the operatories to be the same size and in order to make them more efficient. Two of the operatories are outfitted and a third is being completed this year.
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In order to equip her practice, Dr. Wilmore relied on the assistance of Fortune and Reyes. The two invited the doctor and her husband on an A-dec VIP trip to the manufacturer’s headquarters in Oregon. There, Dr. Wilmore saw first-hand how the company makes its world-class products and how it guarantees quality through fine craftsmanship. “I wish all of my clients would go through the same process that Dr. Wilmore did,” Fortune says of the A-dec trip. “She was educated and therefore more comfortable with the selection process.”
Dr. Wilmore chose the A-dec 12 o’clock duo delivery system and 511 dental chair as well as lights, stools and treatment consoles for the operatories. And with both electric and air-driven handpieces connected to her 12 o’clock console, Dr. Wilmore is well equipped to tackle a variety of challenging cases. “The electric handpieces come in handy trying to get off a hard crown or Zyrconium,” she says.
Fortune spent a lot of time talking with Dr. Wilmore about available technologies and stressed the need to base her decisions on both short- and long-term gains. “I said, if she embraces technology, she’ll see a big benefit in that initially she’ll be able to do with two or three staff members what others would have to do with four or five,” Fortune says.
In order to be on the forefront of dentistry, the doctor selected digital technologies whenever she had a choice between traditional and digital. She launched her new practice with Eaglesoft Practice Management Software. The chartless office initially cost more to set-up, but Dr. Wilmore says already they have saved money by cutting out the need for mailings and postage. Patients receive text messages and/or emails as appointment reminders and all insurance billing is done online.
Patient education is a big component of Dr. Wilmore’s practice. For assistance, she and her staff use CAESY Patient Education Systems presentations in the operatories and print or make digital copies of relevant information for patients to take home. “We stress the correlation between oral health and nutrition...and how this affects the rest of your body,” she says.
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