Teaser: When you first walk through the doors of Yoder Dental Associates and meet the dedicated staff, there's one thing that's clear--these people love what they do. Sure, dentistry can be serious work, but there's also plenty of room for warm, lighthearted camaraderie, with a joke thrown in for good measure. But one things's for sure--when Dr. Kevin Yoder, DDS, talks about how loyal Yoder Dental Associates's clients are, he's not kidding.
"I've been doing this for 32 years," Dr. Yoder says, "and I still serve patients who were four years old the first time I saw them. Now, their four-year-olds come in and sit in my chair, too."
In fact, Yoder says, their office still sees folks who first stepped through their doors back in 1955, when it was a fledgling practice started and run by Yoder's father, Dr. Carl Yoder, until Yoder joined him in 1981, three years before they moved to their present location in Berlin.
The practice has grown quite a bit since those early days, not just by adding doctors and staff, but also by offering more services, ever-improving technology, and, just recently, a much bigger office, more than doubling their floor space and expanding from nine rooms to 14.
The impressive expansion is due, in part, to the addition of two new doctors who not only bring a third generation of dentistry to the practice, but also promise a whole new level of care.
Story: Dr. Lindsay (Stuckey) Stutzman, DDS., and Dr. Michael Stutzman, DDS., both grew up in Holmes county. They met in first grade, began dating in junior high, and, after graduation, decided to become not just life partners, but also business partners. Lindsay Stutzman's grandfather, Dr. Carl Yoder and her uncle, Dr. Kevin Yoder, had both been dentists, and since she liked working with her hands and helping people, she knew dentistry was her calling as well. Michael Stutzman had considered a career in health, so when Lindsay Stutzman chose her path, he stepped onto it alongside her. The two graduated from Ohio State University in April and joined Yoder Dental, the practice Lindsay Stutzman's grandfather had founded and her uncle had continued to grow, adding a total of five dentists to date, including Dr. Robert Lanchman, DDS., who joined the team in 1988, Dr. Jacqueline Baker-Bachtel, DDS., who came onboard in 1991, and, in 1995, Dr. Jill Reese, DDS. The team also now includes three hygienists--Erin Streacker, RDH., Amanda Kaufman, RDH., and Jenny Miller, RDH. The Stutzmans are the first members of the team to have graduated from OSU; the rest are Case Western alumnus.
It's not surprising that such an exceptional dental team would draw clients from Akron, Coshocton and everywhere in between--and beyond. Dr. Yoder says he even has a client who moved from this area to New Zealand and makes arrangements for dental visits when in town.
And so, it only makes sense to have a state-of-the-art facility. While they've never been a small office, when it became clear that Drs. Stutzman and Stutzman would join the team, Dr. Yoder knew what had to be done.
"When I found out four years ago that Michael and Lindsay were accepted to dental school, I was thrilled," Dr. Yoder says. "We decided we'd need to figure out how to make things work for them to be here, and we did it, big time."
They worked with local architect John Swilenski of Tac Systems to design the gorgeous new space and incorporate it into the existing facility. They also chose industry-leading dental distributor, Patterson Dental, to design and supply everything from the cabinets and operating units, to the lights and the chairs, Yoder says, you'll want to go to sleep in as soon as you settle into them. And all of it is completely high-tech, with digital x-rays greatly improving the quality of diagnoses, reducing radiation exposure, and giving results in a fraction of the time conventional x-rays did. Also, since Yoder Dental employs innovative Cerec II technology, they can both design and fabricate a crown all at once, eliminating the need for multiple visits.
Yoder says the office expansion and the addition of new dentists has gone even better than expected.
"We all had input into how the expansion would be done, and we're all very pleased with it," Yoder says. "And we're very excited to have Lindsay and Michael with us. Every time we've added a new doctor, it has made the office even more fun, and now, with Lindsay and Michael coming in, it's extra special to me. They're doing an excellent job."
Dr. Lindsay Stutzman says her greatest joy so far is working with children.
"If I can help a child get through their visit," Stutzman says, "it's worth it to me. A dental appointment can be a scary experience, but I know I've done well when a child leaves here smiling."
Dr. Michael Stutzman is currently working toward providing I.V. Conscious Sedation by year's end, which will allow patients to undergo dental procedures, but have no recollection of them after. I.V. Conscious Sedation isn't as deep as a general anesthetic and will eventually allow Yoder Dental to provide dental implants, truly making them a full-service dental office, providing everything from routine restorations to root canals and from dental crowns and tooth bridges to regular cleanings. But the main thing, Yoder says, is that they provide all of these excellent services at very reasonable prices for every member of the family.
Dr. Yoder remembers his days as a young dentist when he had his own father to consult with. Now he and his partners are thrilled to provide that same opportunity to his niece and nephew-in-law. The Stutzmans are equally honored to be part of such a practice.
"We're happy to be here," Dr. Michael Stutzman says, "and we're very happy to be able to help people."
Yoder Dental Associates is located at 4913 W Main St, Berlin. For more information, contact them at (330) 893-3141.
