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Practice Makes Perfect
The Glass’ Alabama practice went from cramped to cushy – with room for both general dentistry and orthodontics



With North Baldwin Dental Care, general dentist Jennifer Glass and orthodontist Glenn Glass set out to offer residents of their rural town and the surrounding communities a one-stop-shop for oral care. Purchased in 2003 from an orthodontist who retired, the Glass’ knew they would have to make improvements to the 1,300-square-foot space. When the suite next to North Baldwin became available in 2007, a remodel became a viable option.


Dreaming Big
Regardless of space constraints, the positives outweigh the negatives for Jennifer and Glenn to practice out of the same office in Bay Minette, Ala. It’s easier for the patients when they only have to make one stop for two treatments. Jennifer’s staff is trained to handle most ortho emergencies, such as a wire that needs to be clipped, to make patients comfortable until Glenn is back in the office. And Glenn has access to all of Jennifer’s equipment, including computers and digital technology to facilitate case presentations.

From day one, the couple worked hard to build up their patient base in order to afford a major change. They got by for several years in their limited capacity while their patient numbers steadily grew. With their assistants and patients in the small space, however, they couldn’t both work at the same time: Jennifer worked three days a week and Glenn worked one at North Baldwin, splitting the rest of his time between a satellite office in Foley, Ala., and a main office in Daphne, Ala.

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It became difficult for Jennifer to see all of her patients just three days a week. Also, because the Glass’ have small children, her day off on Friday was an important perk of private practice ownership she wasn’t willing to give up.

Jennifer initially thought the solution to her space and schedule constraints was to build a brand-new practice. She and Glenn worked with a design firm on a floor plan and bought a construction site. But the cost of building new weighed heavily on them, even with the growing number of patients. They pulled the plug on the new building at the last minute and the couple was back to square one.

They really liked their central location in a mini mall on a busy street across from a major discount store, and the patients did, too. When it became available, the Glass’ seized on the opportunity to expand into the neighboring suite and remodel to include more operatories, separate ortho from dental, add staff rooms, a lab and sterilization center, and more.

Glenn previously worked with equipment specialist Wayne Wight on a small remodel to his Daphne office, and looked to him again for help with North Baldwin. The couple were concerned about potential lost revenues and what Jennifer’s staff would do during the temporary closure, and challenged Wight to enable the Glass’ to keep the practice open as much as possible while the remodel took place.
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