Big day today! Our build team installing the bulk of the cabinetry in our new space, which will primarily be used for specialty services. We drove ourselves crazy comparing various samples and shades of gray, but it’s something else entirely to see it all come together.
After 30 years within our existing building, our staff (and likely patients) have been noticing that we could use a little more leg room. Specifically, many of our treatment operatories had become multi-purpose several times over, with microscopes and monitoring equipment occupying much of the available wall and floor space.
To improve both access and quality of care, we really wanted our surgeons and endodontists to have an ideal space that was specifically built with them in mind. The best way to do this is to start from scratch, so we expanded our main footprint and built a new wing, incorporating the best practices for a purpose-built facility. This will include easier monitoring of sedated patients, roomier operatories with equipment mounted in convenient locations, and much more.
One of the major goals to this expansion and remodel is to improve disability access to our entire facility. Our current flag-shaped lot was making it a bit of a walk to get to our front door, especially in the Ashtabula winters. In the new layout, our disability access spots are as close as reasonably possible to our reception area. We are also adding an additional 26 new parking spaces, and clearing our back lot to provide room for the snow plows to do their thing, as we typically lose about a dozen spaces during the winter to snow accumulation.
The additional spaces will be critical as we are going to be using a fair portion of our existing lot to add a new wing to our building, focused on specialty care.
Parking lot expansion, please note the final lines and layout will change when the remodel is complete.
We are excited to announce a project that has been a decade in the making.
Some of our long-time patients may remember the origins of Ashtabula Dental, a two floor office over on Elm Street. As the practice’s needs changed over time, the leadership made the decision to invest a new facility, in order to improve both access and the overall experience for patients and staff alike. In January of 1997, we opened the doors to our brand new facility at 5005 State Road. This is where we are today. Of course, we have made various improvement and upgrades over time, but the facility as a whole has remained largely unchanged.
About 10 years ago, it became clear to us that the field of dentistry was evolving, and so were the needs of our community. Simple things like the carpet and the wallpaper would not last forever, but more complicated changes would be required if we wanted to remain on the cusp of progress. In order to meet these needs, we developed a timeframe to institute some pretty major changes. We are grateful to be in a position to implement the plan we have been daydreaming about for years.
So what are we doing? On the esthetic side, you can expect the interior of the building to look radically different- a rebuilt front desk to allow for easier patient-to-staff interfacing, new wallpaper, carpeting, so that both patients and staff get excited to walk in the front door. This also allows us to incoporate more modern materials that are more durable, easier to clean, and better integrated into the overall design of the place. Quality of life changes to expect: an expanded parking lot to allow for more spaces and better disability access, a new restroom accessible by patients directly connected to the reception area, and brand new dental chairs and cabinetry from A-DEC, one of dentistry’s premier brands (entirely manufactured and assembled in the USA).
While we are hoping that the visual changes will be jaw-dropping, the major work is under the hood. We are adding an entirely new wing of the office, incorporating two new surgical suites and recovery area that will allow for the best possible care and experience. We are also integrating a cone-beam computed topography system (CBCT, basically 3D imaging) to allow our surgical teams to see exactly what they need in three dimensions, a major improvement from 2D X-rays. Also on the agenda- iTero dental scanning technology to eliminate the need for many impressions, piezoelectric attachments in all rooms (allows for additional tools for cleanings, endodontic procedures), an additional endodontic microscope, and an entirely new sterilization suite. Just about every inch of the office will be looked at and updated, with efficiency and workflow in mind. You may not see many of these changes, but our hope is that you may feel the difference when appointments run even more smoothly.
Measuring to ideal
Drs. Sivik and Stowell work with our A-DEC representative to build out our perfect space.
As a love letter to our staff (and ourselves), we are relocating and updating our break room and locker rooms, and adding in a small exercise area. While these updates are more office-side, our staff members are citizens of the community, as well as patients, and they deserve so much consideration when we talk about office improvements. We are grateful for their efforts day-in and day-out, and we hope that by investing in a great staff experience, we will continue to retain and attract talented, friendly people who make the overall patient experience a positive one.
We don’t think we will have to close the office at any time, as we will be accomplishing these changes section by section with a dedicated dental remodeling team. They understand how important it is to maintain patient care while these improvements are underway. However, you may be asked to come in a different entrance than you are used to, that sort of thing, so please “pardon our dust” while we undergo this transformation.
Thank you!!
~Your Ashtabula Dental team