by Jamie Hergott
Tue, May 13 2008
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PITTSBORO — Dr. Dayton Dawson, a dentist at Pittsboro Family Dentistry, says it is the simple things is life that make it enjoyable. Dawson joined Steve Richwine at the practice only last September and says he already loves the job and the community.
“I like that I can dramatically help someone’s appearance and confidence through what we do,” Dawson said.
Richwine founded the practice in 1973, and over the past 35 years, the business began to be a bit much for him to take on himself. So when Dawson, an old friend of his stepdaughter, called to see if there was a job opportunity, the two immediately clicked.
“He’s very outgoing and the patients took to him right away,” Richwine said. “It shows he really cares about people.”
Dawson attended Brownsburg High School for half of his high school career and finished off with graduation at Brebuef Jesuit. He graduated from the IU School of Dentistry last July and applied for jobs in the Indianapolis area.
“I looked in Avon, on the southside, downtown,” Dawson said. “I didn’t get along with anyone as much as Steve. In this town of 6,000 people, he was the only dentist and we shared similar views about how to practice.”
He said the two share a similar philosophy in doing dentistry in which practicality is the guideline.
“Steve was less selling dentistry and more helping people,” Dawson said. “He’s been here for 34 years doing just that. It’s not aesthetic, but it’s functional dentistry.”
As an example, Dawson said a friend broke a tooth the day before he was to make an important business presentation.
“We brought him in that night, fixed him up, and he went in with his typical charm and confidence to his meeting,” Dawson said. “It felt pretty good to do that for him. He didn’t want to have to deal with presenting that deal with a snaggled tooth. And he didn’t have to.”
Aside from helping others, Dawson said he enjoys the hours and being his own boss.
He said if he could offer some advice as far as practical tooth care, he’d want to tell everyone that preventative care starts at home. Richwine adds there are practical actions to take, especially for children, in order to prevent significant dental problems.
With Easter having just graced the calendars, many families are finding an excess of candy in the house, which is notoriously bad for teeth.
“If you can get your children to go for sugar-free candy, that’s certainly better,” Richwine said with a cynical chuckle. “But the most important thing is that it doesn’t hang around on their teeth all day. Once they’ve had the candy, just say ‘now it’s time to brush the teeth.’”
Flossing is also a staple in dental care, and Richwine said since it requires a certain amount of manual dexterity, parents should floss for their children until they are capable of doing it themselves.
“It’s very important to do that as the primary teeth are coming in,” Richwine said. “If they’re not flossing, you’re taking the chance they’ll have major problems. Things in children’s health can change so rapidly.”
Dawson said he appreciates being able to promote a simple dental care philosophy at his new practice in Pittsboro.
“It’s just home hygiene,” Dawson said. “We see someone hopefully twice a year. Other than that, they have to maintain what they have. You have to put into action yourself what we tell you. We can’t brush your teeth for you. That’s as simple as it is. If you take time to take care of your teeth, they’ll take care of you too.”
jamie.hergott@flyergroup.com
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