Search PattersonToday.com
New BeginningsNew BeginningsNew Beginnings
 Fall2008 nav imageWinter 2009 Issue
Return to Fall2008
To help ensure a smooth transition to digital technology once construction ramped up, Patterson set up a mock operatory in vacant building space within the office park, complete with chairs, cabinetry, digital computer systems and flat-screen televisions for staff training. The model also provided builders with valuable insight into the dental-related needs of the project. "This group activity and training, along with ongoing education, helped our staff buy into the technology to get us where we are today," Dr. Collins said.

"I am a people person. With Patterson, I have the people content and framework that enable me to be creative, from my Equipment Specialist Jim Plescia and Patterson Representative Michael Gaurke to Lead Service Technician Kenny Werderits, who has been installing my equipment for 20 years." Technical Service Technicians Doug Filomena and John Saltijeral were also an integral part of technology installations.
ARTICLE TOOLS

Print PRINT

Email this story SHARE


Starting out on the right foot
Every true Midwesterner knows the importance of a proper introduction. As a result, the foot of each operatory chair extends toward the entryway. "My goal is to walk into the operatory facing the patient to shake their hand," Dr. Collins said. Other "must-haves" included larger-than-average operatories (at least 12-feet long) and rear delivery systems, allowing enough room to walk around the chair.

The spaciousness also allows for luxuries like a masseuse room and complimentary patient appointments before or after treatment, private offices for associates and a staff lounge area that also serves as a community room.

1 of 12 images
Collins Dental Group P.C., Sycamore, Ill. – Square feet: 10,500
Dr. Dennis Collins
Dr. Collins and Patterson Equipment Specialist Jim Plescia have worked together in different capacities since 1982.
Dr. Collins opened his 10,500-square-feet Collins Dental Group in Sycamore, Ill., on the prime lot of a professional park he developed. The doctor imported 25 semi-truck loads of Colorado red rock to dress up his office location – a connection that stems from his days at the University of Colorado, where he completed undergraduate studies.
Collins Dental Group P.C., Sycamore, Ill. - Square feet: 10,500
Martha Collins, the doctor's wife, oversaw the interior design, keeping in mind the relationship between function and utmost patient comfort. Original artwork from local artists, all of whom are art professors at Northern Illinois University and patients of Dr. Collins, hangs throughout the building and helps to underscore the relationship between visual beauty and the artistic components of creating a beautiful, healthy smile.
The office is moving in the direction of a full-scale lab, with four ergonomically designed Dental-Arte workstations furnished with vacuums and electric handpieces.
A-dec chairs and A-dec Stelte semi-custom cabinetry furnish every operatory. Integrated technologies include Schick digital X-ray, Progeny Preva Intraoral X-ray, EagleSoft software and CAESY Patient Education and the Planmeca ProMax Digital Pan. And 37
Kiosks with Patterson EagleSoft's Fast CheckIn program enable patients to fill out required forms and information electronically.
 
© 2025 Patterson Dental. All rights reserved.