"What's Up Doc?"
Patterson Orthodontics Newsletter
November/2006
Scott B. Patterson, DDS, MS, LLC
Celebrates 25th Anniversary
We
are pleased to announce the 25th anniversary
of our orthodontic practice. Dr. Scott
Patterson started the practice back in 1981, the same
year that the Space Shuttle, "Columbia," made its first
flight. "Columbia" was the first reusable spacecraft. It
orbited the earth 36 times during the 54 hour and 22 minute
flight.
What else happened in 1981? On July 29th, 20-year old Lady Diana Spencer
married Prince Charles. The couple was whisked away in a
70-year old horse drawn carriage with a "Just Married" sign on
the back. Also, George Washington’s dentures were reported missing
from the National Museum of American History. The gold and
ivory teeth had been in a storage room. The inscription on the
choppers read, "This was the Great Washington’s teeth."
Actually, he had dentures galore. One set is kept at Mount
Vernon, another is in London and a third is somewhere in South
America.
Yes, when you think about it, things have changed a lot in
25 years.
But, after all this time, there are
some things which have remained the same. One great thing is
that Dr. Patterson is still around and thriving after 25 years
of hard work and dedication by everyone involved . . . and
most importantly, caring about patients who helped him
reach this milestone.
"DOC"umentary
Dr. Patterson has always been
glad that he made the decision to set up his orthodontic
practice in the state line area. His decision could be
considered somewhat surprising, since he had never set foot in
the Midwest before he graduated from dental school.
Doc grew up in suburban New York, and enjoyed
some family vacations to the dairy farming regions of rural
Vermont. It was the beauty and peace of the pastoral
scenes, as well as the attractions of raising a family in a
small, independent community, that eventually drew Doc to
Monroe.
Doc earned his Bachelor of
Science degree and then completed his four years of dental
training at the nation's number-one dental school, graduating
with honors at the age of 24. During the following years
of his orthodontic residency training at the world's top
orthodontic program, he carefully analyzed numerous
communities in 12 different states searching for the ideal
practice location. Eventually, he flew to Wisconsin and
visited Sturgeon Bay, Whitewater, Baraboo and Monroe and
returned a second time to nail down his decision. Doc
selected Monroe because of the quality of the schools and
health care, low crime rate, good community government,
service organizations and spirit of volunteerism. The
excellence of the downtown area, convenient local shopping and
proximity to Madison and Chicago were also factors which
influenced his decision. Years later, he was not
surprised when a man in Connecticut evaluated over 2,500 small
towns across America, and ranked Monroe 13th best.
In 1993, Doc opened his office in Freeport at
the request of some local dentists, thereby making his
services more convenient for the many patients who had been
driving to Monroe.
Looking back, Doc has experienced most of the
usual challenges which face dentists in private
practice. The biggest challenge, he notes, was hiring,
training and coordinating an excellent staff. "Without a
doubt, my staff is now the best I've ever had," Patterson
says. "There have been some excellent staff members
among the 30 plus team members I've worked with through the
years, but I believe that Diane, Charity, Geri and Vickie are
unsurpassed in their abilities, organizational skills,
personalities, camaraderie and caring attitudes."
Other challenges have included managing an
inventory of several thousand different items, negotiating our
way through a maze of governmental regulations concerning
private practices, employees, insurance administration and
taxation, and continuing to produce excellent results as
patients become busier and less able to comply with
instructions concerning the wearing of appliances and elastic
bands.
Counting the two years of
orthodontic residency, Doc has spent most of his life
providing orthodontic services to his patients. "Because
each patient is different, every year presents new challenges,
so the job remains interesting," Patterson says. "I'm
proud to report that my staff and I have been able to buck the
trend toward assembly line orthodontics, and have continued to
provide individualized care for patients. " That care
has included a number of innovations which Doc has developed
on his own to treat particular problems. He has returned
to the University of North Carolina as a guest lecturer to
share these methods with residents and faculty.
In addition to his extensive community
involvement which earned him the Monroe Distinguished Citizen
of the Year Award in 1998, Doc enjoys solving problems, which
include patents and inventions in progress. A very
popular program which Doc developed and presented to Congress
is the Health Savings Account, which lowers overhead expenses
for insurance companies while greatly reducing insurance costs
for insured individuals.
What does the future hold? "I pledge to continue
to provide the best orthodontic services I am capable of,
utilizing the best of the new techniques and technologies as
they become available," Patterson says. "I thank the
people of the state line area for the opportunity to serve
them, and look forward to continuing our tradition of creating
beautiful smiles for many years to
come."
Popular Events 25 Years Ago
What events happened in
1981?
- Air traffic controllers go on
strike
- Joe Louis, the longest reigning
champ, died at 67
- "Trivial Pursuit" was the new game
craze
- Baseball strike started on June 12th
and lasted seven weeks. The L.A. Dodgers defeated the
N.Y. Yankees to win the World Series
- The Stanley Cup was won by the New
York Islanders
- The NBA title went to the Boston
Celtics The Super Bowl was won by the
Oakland Raiders
- Popular tunes were Kim Carnes'
"Bette Davis Eyes", Manhattan Transfer "Boy From New York
City", and Al Jarreau's "Breaking Away"
- Picture of the Year - "Chariots of
Fire"
- Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn
received Best Actor and Actress for the movie "On Gold
Pond"
- Dr. Scott B. Patterson
started his first year of Orthodontics in Monroe,
Wisconsin
Copyright © 2001, Dr. Scott Patterson
Monroe Phone: (608) 328-8160
Freeport Phone: (815) 232-7223
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