Thursday, November 27, 2008

Our New Madison Office

We are currently building a new office in Madison Alabama. We have an office there now, but it is getting really cramped. We need more space! The land has been purchased and we are in the design phase now. The new office will be just down the street from the old one and should be ready by the end of 2008 (if we are lucky).

It will be similar to our Huntsville office seen here. So do not fear, we are making changes to continuously improve both our facility and our service. Stay tuned for updates on this great new office!

Update--July 2008
We are breaking Ground!
For those of you from other parts of the country, that's Red Alabama Dirt.

Update--November 2008
Completed brickwork and exterior. Encountered a buried data transmission line, so will need to have them move it before we pour the parking lot. Still, things progressing well! Ordering some new dental chairs from Zelco Brothers in Houston, Texas. Construction is by Fife construction here in Huntsville-they are doing a great job. By the way, Forbes magazine named Madison county Alabama the #1 place to weather the recession.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thought you might be interested in this post from my Health Business Blog related to ADHD and lidocaine: http://www.healthbusinessblog.com/?p=1601

Anonymous said...

I was wondering if you would be willing to write a post about lip sucking and lip licking.

Thanks in advance! We love you guys.

-Andy in Athens

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

I'll try to. I did post some info on Pacifier sucking which is a related subject. I notice a lot of kids this time of year tend to lick their chapped lower lip, it gets irritated and raw, so they lick or suck it more, so it gets irritated, etc, etc. Makes a semicircular red area. Best thing for that is chapstick or vasaline on the affected area till it heals.

Kids with an overbite tend to be more prone to improper lip positioning because their lip sits right there behind their rather pronounced upper teeth. I'll see what I can come up with. Thanks for reading!

Trent said...

I am completing my Master's degree in Social Work. I am looking into going to dental school and would like to practice in Utah (where I'm from). I understand it's pretty saturated here with general practicing dentists- I would be willing to study a specialty which would then open up the market for me; however I wouldn't get doen with school until I was 38 or 39 years old! Is it worth it? I am interested in your opinion about this...

Thanks,

-Trent

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

Please check out my posts (in the sidebar under "Popular Topics", Dental School). I have a lot of stuff there that might be of help for you. I think it would be "worth it" if it is what you have a passion for, what you love to do.

Anonymous said...

I would like your opinion, my 3 almost 4 year old visited the dentist yesterday. She has a crossbite where one front tooth is behind her bottom tooth as well as most of her left top side is shifted Inward (or almost behind the bottom row of teeth). The dentist suggest putting in an expander now. She states that this bite could cause some semetrical issues in her face that may not be correctable later. I am not sure how I feel about this, do you think it is ok to start this treatment at such a young age or am I just wasting time as well as putting my 3year old through unnecessary pain. Any help on this would be appreciated.

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

you can read about this in my posts on posterior crossbites and orthodontics (see the links on the sidebar) I have done expanders on as young as 3 , but often wait till they are a little older.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Brandon,

Forgive my ignorance, but where do you find the time to travel between several dental offices? I'm an aspiring pediatric dentist and it would be most helpful if you could share with me what a typical day is like in your particular field.

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

Oh, that's a good question. I'll have to make a whole post about a typical day.

But for now, in a very brief form: I get to the office about 7:15, seeing patients around 7:40 to 1:00, then lunch, and then work 2:00 till 5:00, leaving the office about 5:30. We see operative and hygiene patients all day long with premeds and younger patients in the am. There are often some after hours doctor/management meetings, but not too many.

By the way, our two offices are not that far away from each other, only about 12 miles apart, so it is no big deal to go to one or the other. Right now each of us works two days a week at each office. So I have to remember which office to go to on any given day. We do keep it pretty regular for some consistency. (Not always, but generally, we share the patients). Then we do OR cases at the hospital on Fridays with the occasional day off. I like the variety of the two offices. Much of the staff do not travel back and forth, just the docs, although we do switch some staff around from time to time to meet the needs of the office/patients.

Anonymous said...

I'm a dentist too and in Poland we have a big problem with child, beacuse they ea a lof of sugar. But Adutl drink a lot of cola and it's big problem.

Anonymous said...

Very good site, and information about dentical. This article give me a lot of infotmation to my job.

Anonymous said...

Hi. I appreciate your blog and found a lot of useful information here that was hard to find on the www. regarding options for crowns on baby teeth.

I was wondering if you would be willing to do a post on the issue of a trend (new to me) in Pediatric Dental Office policy of parents not being allowed in the treatment rooms.

It has been an extremely difficult challenge his month to find a Pediatric Dentist, covered by my insurance Cigna DHMO, that will allow me in the treatment area when my 5 year old daughter gets work done. They all seem to have a "Policy" which I comprehend may benefit certain patients (+ the staff & dentist) but one size does not fit all. Ergo...parental choice for the benefit of the child.

Luckily, the last provider my insurance had listed will allow me in the treatment area. Otherwise I would have to pay cash for her to be treated out of network which I cannot afford due to being on disability.

It would have put us in a predicament; having to choose to obide with a policy we don't agree is appropriate for our daughter, or delaying treatment to save money to pay for out of network costs.

The knowledge I have of what my daughter can and cannot handle emotionally is much greater than anyone else's. Being on her own would greatly increase her anxiety unnecessarily. Lord knows I don't even want to be alone getting treatment! Their answer to my concern of her increased anxiety was not conservative (Mom) it is aggressive (sedation). What ever happened to trying the least invasive approach first?

She never needed sedation before with her Dentist in CA where parents were never asked to wait out in the other room. Now we are in TN and have had quite a struggle to find someone with similar Dental Philosophies.

I feel that there is something wrong with refusing a parents request to be in the treatment room. I would never leave my 5 year old in a room alone with her fabulous pediatrician or while she was getting stitches in the ER, so why would I leave her alone with her dentist? It should be a federally protected choice of the parent who knows the child best.

I don't know what the law is about policies such as this one but I don't feel it is legal in my opinion or if it is it should not be...

So many pediatric dental offices have adapted such a policy. Leaving the informed & concerned parent with very few if any other choices when the child needs dental treatment.

I respect my daughter. Even though she is only 5, I feel she has the same rights as I do as an adult; freedom of choice. The choices for Pediatric Dental Clinics that allow a Mom in the treatment area are slim pickins.

How does such a strict & rampant policy truly value and respect patient rights?

I would really appreciate your feedback and consideration on this issue. Just because it's the norm these days doesn't mean it shouldn't be open for discussion.

Thanks for your time & energy.

Respectfully,

Ammey Kohen

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

I already posted on this subject (just down a bit on the main page), or at least it alludes to your concern. This seems to be a hot button topic for some parents such as yourself. There are also many posts here on behavior management/sedation, etc. that I encourage you to read.

I've been around long enough to remember that in the not so distant past almost all pedo practices did not routinely allow parents back especially for operative procedures. A lot of older guys still do it that way, some very strict on that. So, it is actually much more open now in most practices. It was not meant to be mean or elusive, just was found to work quite well for most everyone. I won't go into it here, but there was some real scientific behavioral management reasons for doing it that way. Parental expectations have changed somewhat over time too.

Anonymous said...

Hi Dr. Dean,
We moved away 2 yrs ago from HSV (hometown), and our son is having some dental work done. I was researching Valium and stumbled on your blog. It calmed me down (not completely-I'm a mom!) one, from your info, and two, just the fact that you're from HSV! If we ever move back, we are coming straight to you. Keep up the great work!

Velda said...

I'm half wishing you were building an office HERE (in UT). Kudos on having such useful info in your blog. I'm a horrible mom whose kids have never yet been to a dentist (no insurance / little money but too much to have state help) My 7 year old son just lost his first baby tooth and I was worried that there was no 'root' on it and pulp still stuck in it and in his gums. Found your site via google and am feeling reassured.
But I still promise to find a dentist and get them there before school starts!

Anonymous said...

Hi Dr. Dean. My daughter is one yr old and we live in China. Two days ago we had an accident and she lost one of her front milk teeth. It was more like being yanked out. She was gawning on sth when i tried to pull her away. The tooth came off completely i think. We haven't seen any dentist yet. In China we have to go to hospital for every problem. So I would like some advice from you. Is there any chance that she might grow another milk tooth? Also her bottom teeth are sprouting. But three front ones appear to be quite misaligned. They shape like an"N"leaning to the right. I'm really worried if her teeth will become a problem for her eating and speaking. And what caused the misalignment. She's bottle fed. She likes gawning on things but not her fingers. Thank you so much!

Anonymous said...

I found your blog while I was doing some research online about a child's teeth and age. Neither our dentist or orthodontist has been able to give me much of an answer to my question. We have a daughter who was adopted from Liberia. Her paperwork says that she was 8 years old when she came home but we know this is a guessed age. I was surprised to find out that she already had all of her permanent teeth, even her 12 year molars, when she came home. I am wondering what the youngest age that a child, without a medical condition, can have all of their permanent teeth?

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

Sometimes baby teeth come in rotated or crooked. They do not grow back after getting knocked out, but are replaced by permanent teeth later on. Anything particularly concerning you, well get it checked out if you can.

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

Teeth generally follow a certain schedule, but that can be early or late. I've seen it all over the place as far as timing. I have seen "12 year molars" on 10 year olds, and I have seen 14 year olds who do not yet have their 12 year molars.

dentist slough said...

why do so many people hate going to the dentist? With all the latest gadgets, its actually a world away from the old days?