“We always say, working here is like being on vacation. It should be fun while we’re here!” Newingham said. “We just fit together, the same personalities and the same sense of humor.” The team enjoys sharing recipes, tasty leftovers and, recently, making nutritious smoothies together.

In 2010, when the previous owner moved on, Newingham began in earnest to determine the next phase of his practice, mainly trying to figure out how to remodel the practice, which had already been remodeled once, in the 1980s. It was housed in an office building with other tenants, and he and the landlord were unable to negotiate new terms or an expansion plan.

Newingham began looking at other existing properties in town, but each time he tried to make an offer, other buyers stepped in with better offers, so he stayed where he was. He continued working with his Patterson Dental territory representative, Andy Wold, and his equipment specialist, Rick Coppens, drafting plans for the new offices that weren’t materializing and feeling frustrated at being stuck.

“Andy was a patient of mine at my first office. He’s an easy guy to talk to, to ask what’s working for other dentists, equipment questions, you name it,” Newingham said. “I shared with him and Patterson my desire to become one of the most respected dentists in my area, and they supported that.”

In the spring of 2013, the Patterson representatives took Newingham to an office design seminar and encouraged him not to give up on his dream. Later that year, the doctor finally found land for sale that would meet his needs. “I called up Andy and Rick, and told them, it’s our best case scenario: we have a blank slate and can do the practice exactly how we want it,” Newingham said. “They went back to the drawing board to implement everything I wanted in my ideal office.”

Wold and Coppens coordinated the project, ensuring that Newingham’s floorplan must-haves were in the architect’s final renderings. Newingham and his team run a dental assisting school in addition to the practice, so they needed a facility design that would accommodate both activities without creating too much interaction between them.

The clinic floorplan design is U-shaped, with one complete walkway throughout the practice. The digital pan and sterilization center are centrally located so that both practice and school can share the facilities and get to them in an equal amount of time. Two of the operatories are dedicated to the clinical side of the assisting school, with the remaining six operatories reserved for the practice. The staff lounge doubles as a classroom and is removed from the main practice area, which helps maintain a separation between patients and the school.