"The Office"

           On the way to the beach one summer when I was little, we passed the exit off the highway for Manteo, North Carolina, a small town near Beaufort, our destination. My father then proceeded to tell me that there was an elderly woman who came all the way from that little town just to get her teeth cleaned every six months. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Ms. Fran Grant was so loyal to my father as a dentist that she refused to find one closer to her home. Not only did she travel approximately three hours for a dentist appointment, something most people would not even travel ten minutes for, but also she never failed to bring her delicious, homemade shortbread cookies for my father and his staff to enjoy. As per usual, my father would then bring the cookies home for our family to enjoy, so I grew up on Fran’s cookies around Christmastime. She passed away recently, but I will never forget her intense loyalty and delicious baked goods. It was so difficult when I first heard of this lady for me to understand why she would continue her enrollment as a patient in the practice, but I soon grew to comprehend the rich history of the dental office, the place it serves in the town, and why the patients keep coming back.

My grandfather moved to Wake Forest, North Carolina with his job when my father was already in college, but my dad spent summers there when he came home from school. After he graduated from dental school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he began to search for a job. This is when he stumbled upon a small practice located within the heart of downtown.

The practice had opened in 1972 when Dr. Underwood decided to start his business in the small town of Wake Forest. From the outside, the building might not look like very much. It certainly does not resemble the modern day double story office buildings that have become prevalent in most large cities. The office is small, one story, and at times, certainly looks like it could use a paint job, but it does its best to blend in to the small-town charm that is Wake Forest. In 1984, my dad began working in the office as one of the dentists in addition to another one named Dr. Dearstyne. When Dr. Underwood decided that he had had enough of dentistry for a while, he decided to sell his practice. At this point, my dad and Dr. Dearstyne became partners, buying the office and the practice from Dr. Underwood. Eventually, Dr. Dearstyne developed back problems, a problem most dentists must eventually face, and was forced to stop working. My father then became the sole owner of the practice and his own boss.

            For me, my dad’s office has always been a pivotal part of my life, as well as a pivotal part of the town of Wake Forest. Growing up, my brother and I always called it “the office”, not dad’s office, not the dentist’s office, just “the office”. My dad always joked that it was “the best little place to work in the world”, and I always believed him. What could be better than being the boss of everyone and doing something you loved? People originally from Wake Forest always know my dad’s practice. When I was little and to this day, I was often introduced as Dr. Upton’s daughter. Often it seems that we cannot even make a trip to the grocery store without seeing one of my dad’s patients. In this way, I think my dad’s dental practice plays a fundamental role in the town of Wake Forest, connecting my family and I to our small town. I can relate to the patients who say how great of a dentist he is because I am included in that list. His practice has always been the first one in Wake Forest, so the patients just keep coming back.

            My dad’s patients are so loyal because he essentially does everything right when it comes to being a doctor. Being a small town doctor, he really knows every single patient in his file room. He can tell you who their children are, where they live, and how their grandkids are doing; it’s that kind of a small-town practice. When you walk in, the receptionists, Susan and Joy, two ladies that have seen me grow up through the years, don’t just tell you to have a seat and the doctor will be right with you, but instead take a moment to chat and ask how things are going. The town of Wake Forest gets a great reputation because of establishments like my father’s and in turn, my family is rewarded with a good reputation because of his work. The people of Wake Forest know that my dad really cares and loves what he does, so they have no problem driving three hours to get to their appointment, for instance, because they wouldn’t go anywhere else.

            People from Wake Forest know my family because they know my father. He has been their dentist, their children’s dentist, and now maybe even their grandchildren’s dentist. He sees his patients outside of his practice and actually knows each one if them personally, and for that, I believe he is worth coming back to. The town of Wake Forest would not be the same without the quality service of an historical dental practice, and my family would never be the same if we could not go to “the office” every once in a while.