Family Practice P by Marie Lelad, Assistat Editor, Detaltow Magazie Welcome to the ewest istallmet of Office Visit, where we a Towie s office ad profile his or her equipmet, desig or uique practice philosophy. If you would like to participate or omiate a colleague, please e-mail be@detaltow.com. This moth, Detaltow Magazie ed Topsham Detal Arts i Topsham, Maie. This family-ru practice cosists of father, Dr. Howard Sprague; so, Dr. Gregory Sprague; ad daughter, Dr. Polly Nichols (Mom, Rosemary also works at the practice as a detal assistat). Together they share the reasos they chose detistry as a career, the beefit of beig able to cosult with each other o complex treatmet plas ad they provide advice for other detists cosiderig practicig with family. 92 May 2010» detaltow.com
Office Highlights Bodig Agets Ultradet Peak LC Bod Cemets 3M ESPE RelyX lutig cemet Implats Strauma Impressio Materials Replica Miscellaeous Items 3M ESPE Sof-Lex Cotourig & Polishig Discs A-dec 500 Detal Chairs ad Delivery Uits A-dec Assistia A-dec Sterilizatio Ceter A-dec W&H Electric motors with high ad low speed attachmets AMD Lasers, Picasso Soft Tissue Detal Laser Buffalo Detal No. 1A Vibrator Cliicia s Choice Quad-Tray Xtreme Coltée/Whaledet BioSoic Custom Cabietry by Baer Woodworkig Detsply Midwest Rhio Motors ad Attachmets Detsply Midwest Traditio Highspeed Hadpieces with Fiber Optics Detsply Tulsa X-Tip DUX Detal Algiator Foster Detal Model Trimmer Garriso Detal Solutios Composi-Tight 3D Sectioal Matrix System Garriso Detal Solutios Wedge Wads HSW Ligmaject Ivisalig Kerr Corporatio, Demi Midmark UltraClave Milestoe Scietific, The Wad Nordet Istrumets Physics Forceps Red Wig Lathe Satelec Scalers SciCa Statim 2000 Cassette Sterilizer Sybro Elemets Obturatio Uit Ultradet Edo-Eze System Ultradet Opalesece 10% Woodpecker Detal Curig Lights Patiet Fiacig CareCredit Hery Schei Citibak program Restoratives Prep Cleaer: Ultradet Cosepsis Etch: Beco Detal Flowable Composite: Septodot Image Filled Composite: GC America GRADIA DIRECT ad Kuraray CLEARFIL MAJESTY Sealats: Pulpdet Embrace WetBod Base/Lier: Pulpdet Lime-Lite Techology Dell Vostro 410 Computers Kodak 8000 Digital Paoramic System Kodak Practiceworks Software Kodak RVG 6000 Sesors Why did each of you choose detistry as your career path? Howard: My childhood detist ecouraged me toward detistry by showig me his lab, detal models ad examples of prosthesis he was completig. He also let me press the pedal ad watch sterile istrumets Photography by Michele Stapleto Topsham Detal Arts Top Five Pieces of Equipmet o page 94, story cotiued o page 96 Name: J. Howard Sprague, DDS Graduate from: Loma Lida Uiversity School of Detistry, 1962 Name: Gregory H. Sprague, DDS Graduate from: Loma Lida Uiversity School of Detistry, 2005 Name: Polly S. Nichols, DDS Graduate from: Loma Lida Uiversity School of Detistry, 1996 Practice Name: Topsham Detal Arts Practice Locatio: Topsham, Maie Year whe this office opeed: September 2008 Practice size: 2,460 square feet Staff: 8 Web site: www.topshamdetalarts.com detaltow.com «May 2010 93
cotiued from page 93 Topsham Detal Arts Top Five Milestoe Scietific s The Wad Digital X-rays ad PAN RGP Detal doctor & assistat stools A-dec 500 patiet chair & delivery uit Picasso Soft Tissue Laser Whe did you start usig it? Howard: About 1994 I saw oe at the Yakee Detal Cogress ad though I would give it a try. We have oe i every operatory ow. Whe we opeed this practice i 2008. Howard: Whe I bega to have lower back pai about 14 years ago I tried oe ad the pai disappeared. So whe we furished this office I advised Polly ad Greg to use them. Whe we opeed September of 2008. We had a soft tissue laser for a umber of years at our previous office. So a laser was at the top of our wish list after opeig this office. Picasso made our wish come true sooer tha we expected. Why ca you ot live/work without it? The Wad reduces stress for both patiet ad detist. Kowig that the patiet is comfortable eve while beig give aesthesia is cetral to our ejoymet of detistry. We appreciate the istat images ad the ease with which patiets ca iterpret what they see o the scree. Back pai has o place i detal practice! The patiet chair is so comfortable. The thi back is kid to our kees. The built-i electric motor ad ultrasoic scaler miimizes the shelf clutter ad cord tagles. Aother great feature is the composite mode light butto. There is o better way to remove tissue obstructios, freums ad excess gigiva with accuracy while icurrig miimal damage to adjacet tissue. All this traslates ito a comfortable outcome for the patiet. Whe do you use the item? Every time aesthesia is eeded. For all radiographs. All day, every day. All day, every day. Gigival recoturig, troughig for impressios, lesio removal, ad freectomies. How do you market this item to your patiets? I our advertisig (Yellow Pages, Web site), wheever givig tours of the office ad by explaatio whe it is used. It markets itself. We like to poit out that radiatio exposure is cut by half with the digital process. Not applicable. We tell them that we spet a lot of time choosig the most comfortable chair that we could fid for them. Our ads metio it (Yellow Pages, Web site ad other ads) ad we explai it as we use it. If you could chage aythig about the item, what would it be? The aspirate mode should ot be the default settig as it is ot eeded i most cases. Thier, softer, wireless sesors would be ice. Positioig the sesors to ope the cotacts betwee aterior teeth ca be challegig. Nothig. We would make it a over the patiet system istead of a Radius set-up. It is bulky ad awkward to maeuver. The aswer to this problem might be the 300 series that has just come out. The agle of the tip. There are places where a right agle would be more coveiet. cotiued o page 96 94 May 2010» detaltow.com
cotiued from page 94 come up from the boilig water. His wife kept the books ad assisted him. I thought I would like to have a close family like that. I also thought detistry would be a good livig sice my detist told me I could charge $70 for placig a crow! Greg: Growig up playig ad workig i my dad s office defiitely iflueced my decisio positively. As a small boy I would slide off the patiet chairs, light firecrackers i the lab with my dad, ad play i the plaster these are all fu memories. As I grew older I leared to assist ad do just about everythig else that goes o i a detal office icludig buildig remodelig ad maiteace. Polly: Detistry was ot a forgoe decisio for me. I thik I cosidered early everythig else first; from vet school to music educatio, but could ot feel settled about ay of those optios. I kew that my dad foud great satisfactio i his professio, ad I had doe every job i the office except beig the detist, so I decided halfway through my juior year of college to fill that gap i my resume. My dad ever ecouraged me to pursue detistry. He said it was Dr. Polly Nichols with detal assistat Rosemary, her mother. very demadig, cofiig work (ad it is), but as soo as I decided to become a detist I could tell he was very pleased ad I have ever regretted the decisio. How do your family dyamics work i ad out of your practice each day? Greg: Our family works very well together. We are ot as good at playig. Polly: Perhaps aother way to put that is that we fid pleasure i accomplishig thigs together, it is our play. Buildig our preset office was a great adveture to ejoy together. We each have differet stregths ad we are learig to divide resposibilities accordigly. We share a great deal of professioal ad persoal respect for each other. Havig our dad ad his 48 years of thoughtful experiece at our figertips is powerful. Howard: The pleasure of beig able to shift so much resposibility to Polly ad Greg ad see them ru with it has bee great. Beig able to cosult together ad assist each other i various procedures is mutually beeficial. My wife, Rosemary, ad I ever dreamed of havig two of our childre practice with us so we are truly blessed. What sort of challeges do you face i workig with each other each day? Polly: Cliically there really are o challeges. Admiistratively, sharig resposibilities ca be a double-edged sword. Tasks are shared, but there are three times as may bosses for staff to iteract with. Frequet ad clear commuicatio betwee the three of us, ad also with our staff is importat. Fidig each other s stregths is a critical process that is ogoig. This implies potetial frustratios whe we do ot succeed i matchig the right task (admiistrative, maiteace, you ame it) with the right detist. What advice ca you give other detists who are cosiderig practicig with family? Howard: Havig experiece together i the office eve before detal school graduatio is helpful. Naturally, a shared commitmet to excellece is critical. Beyod that ad eve more importat is that the family members share a commo worldview ad life goals. Otherwise, frictio would be difficult to avoid. Polly: I agree. Philosophy, world view ad goals i life all have to mesh. Agreemet i the philosophical realm traslates ito agreemet o practical cosideratios such as salary calculatio formulas ad overhead sharig. We spet a good deal of time workig these thigs out ad puttig them ito official, legal formats that defie our professioal relatioship. Greg: It is importat that each family member sees the others as colleagues who have uique iformatio ad isights to share. What is your practice philosophy? How do you cultivate this philosophy i your practice? Howard: Loma Lida Uiversity has a beautiful motto, To Make Ma Whole. We share this i the sese that we desire to be available to serve our patiets i more tha just the detal dimesio. Our patiets come with may eeds; social, physical ad spiritual ad our desire is to be competet; to ecourage, share, grieve ad rejoice with them as appropriate o all these levels. Greg: We cultivate this philosophy by makig sure that we have time with our patiets; time to commuicate, time to leave the topical o log eough, time to get it right. We sed a good umber of cards; get well, birthday, sympathy, etc. Polly: Our team prays together each morig. We pray for each other ad for our patiets. Our missio is to participate i our fiite way i the ifiite healig miistry that Jesus bega whe He was here. As part of this we provide a good deal of doated detistry withi the practice, part of which is workig 96 May 2010» detaltow.com
with MaieCare, our state s seriously uderfuded detal program, ad Give Kids a Smile. We also have each participated o may occasios i overseas detal missios ad pla to cotiue to do so. Oe of the stregths of our joit practice is that we have more freedom to share our time ad skills tha ay of us would have if we practiced idividually. What is the competitio like i your area? What does your practice do that sets you apart from other detists i your area? Polly: Maie has a shortage of detists, so we have yet to sese competitio eve though we practice i oe of the better detally served areas of the state. The local detists have bee very warm ad helpful toward us. We appreciate beig i a area that has so may fie detists. We ca thik of two thigs that set us apart. First, the fact that we are a brad ew office with state of the art techology is a draw. Secod, the three of us practicig together meas that we are able to provide a broad rage of treatmet icludig most edo, oral surgery ad implat services. The ability to coveietly cosult amog the three of us regardig complex treatmet plas is aother beefit to the patiets. What piece of techology has the biggest wow factor for your patiets? Polly: The Wad aesthesia system ad digital X-rays would have to tie for this hoor. Digital X-rays have truly tured X- rays ito a patiet educatio tool. The Wad provides for practically pailess aesthesia ad is defiitely worth the extra time it takes to admiister. What is each of your favorite procedures to perform? Do ay of you specialize i a specific area of detistry or prefer certai procedures over others? Howard: Placig implats is the most persoally rewardig thig I do. Beig able to give patiets a secod chace at complete detitio is woderful. For patiets who have lost their atural detitio, usig implats to stabilize lower full detures is probably the most humae service we ca offer. Staff (from left): Tammy, Dr. Greg s assistat; Joae, Becky s mom ad assistat; Becky, Office Maager; Kathry, Dr. Polly s assistat; Breda, RDH; Rosemary, Howard s wife ad Polly & Greg s mom is Dr. Howard s assistat; Dr. J. Howard Sprague; Dr. Gregory Sprague; ad Dr. Polly Nichols. Not pictured: Roby, RDH; ad Timothy, Dr. Polly s husbad, does IT ad supervises accoutig processes. Polly: I agree with my dad. Other thigs I especially ejoy are cosmetic procedures. The simple restoratios that make such a immediate differece i a perso s smile or a full mouth recostructio. Greg: I ve added Ivisalig to my toolbox ad am really havig fu with this ew piece of detistry. I have good relatioships with local orthodotists ad cosult with them regularly. How has Detaltow chaged the way you practice? Polly: We are used to top dow commuicatio i detal literature ad it is refreshig to experiece the horizotal sharig that is possible i the Detaltow forum. Hearig from other everyday detists is ecouragig ad educatioal. The willigess of Detaltow columists ad participats to share their ideas ad office forms is helpful. For example, we dowloaded ad are usig a slightly modified versio of Dr. Howard Farra s patiet fiacial policy. If you were t a detist, what do you thik you d be doig right ow? Howard: My dad was a osteopath. The deep satisfactio that he ad his patiets gaied through his care iflueced me greatly durig my early years. Though I was oly 11 years old whe I lost him, the ifluece of his kidess ad love of his professio almost tilted me i that directio. I thik the oe-area-of-the-body focus of detistry, plus the iformatio sharig of my childhood detist tilted me ito a detal career. After 48 years I m more excited about beig a detist tha ever ad ca t seem to wish for retiremet. Polly: I cosidered medicie. If my dad was ot a detist I would likely have bee caught i the medical trap ad become a surgeo because I like to use my hads so much. O the other had, perhaps a literature professor or a jouralist. There are all sorts of addictios, mie is to the writte word. But detistry has bee a perfect fit for my iterest i the arts, health, people ad usig my hads as well as my head. Greg: A professioal sowmobile stut rider... i my dreams! I thought about beig a college biology professor. I spet three years of college as a lab assistat ad really ejoyed that experiece. detaltow.com «May 2010 97