Though he was excited about staying in his current location, Winter found that some finessing needed to be done to make the project work. Winter needed his doors to stay open to patients during the project in order to afford it. "It's a lot harder to live in a house and remodel it at the same time, than it is to go ahead and build a new house," he said. "I had to have five working operatories throughout the project. I could not step away from my building for a month or two months and let this come to pass. I had to have the ability to work."

A phased development, then, was the decision. First, they'd construct the new addition of the practice, then they'd connect it, and then they'd remodel the existing structure. Winter was unforgiving on one point: he would not have a dusty practice during construction. A window even became a construction entrance to the practice so workers wouldn't track dust and dirt through the open portions of the practice.

The construction process would double Downtown Dental Group's square footage to about 3,000 square feet. The renovation started modestly enough, but Winter found that after an A-dec Educational Experience trip to the company's headquarters in Newberg, Ore., he wanted to do more. "When I first started, I was going to put in two or three new operatories and call it good," he said. "I came to the realization when I went to Oregon and looked at the equipment and the layout, I wanted a technologically advanced practice. I didn't need to go out and buy every bell and whistle. The way I look at it is: If technology benefits me, I'll consider it. If technology benefits my patients, I'll buy it."

The new technology, GALILEOS to go along with his CEREC, for instance, is one of the "wow" effects Winter wanted to give his patients. To continue with the "rule of three," Winter worked to design the practice with three such effects. The other two are a reception area with abundant glass, giving a stunning view of the center courtyard; and the hallway to the clinical area, which features professional photographs of all the staff members and their families. It worked.