The last time Dr. Roderick Shaw’s office gave away a TV, it was Christmas Eve, and it was almost like a Christmas party. It felt like Christmas Eve once again on Thursday, March 31, when Shaw’s wife, Kathleen, called Justina Cone of Greenville to tell her that she had won the drawing for the 42-inch flatscreen Panasonic Viera.
The Christmas Eve drawing had been so much fun, “we wanted to do it again,” said Kathleen, because, in addition to the actual drawing, “We have months of fun leading up to it.”
Dr. Roderick Shaw III, whose dentistry office is almost directly across the street from the Madison County School Board building on Duval Street, studied chemistry and biochemistry at Auburn University, and followed up with drug research for treatment of arthritis. His interest in dentistry, and the applications biochemistry and engineering could have in the field, led him to study dentistry at the University of Florida.
Currently, he is also active in the Academy of General Dentistry, which has more stringent requirements than the state of Florida for maintaining credentials – 75 hours of additional training every two years, compared to 24 hours for the state. In 2004, he achieved Fellowship status with the Academy by completing 500 hours. In 2005, he reached the level of Masters (requiring 1500 hours and completion of a four-day, 16-hour written exam), a level achieved by about one percent of practicing dentists.
Dr. Shaw and his wife now live and work in Madison because, as Kathleen says, her husband loves living in the small town environment and having his children here.
At Thursday’s drawing, Kathleen said they had decided to hold even more drawings in the future, about once a quarter, “as a way of giving back to the community.” This time, a TV; perhaps next time, an iPad.
Thursday’s drawing was also partly to celebrate the almost-completed renovations to the office. Most of the dark paneling is gone, replaced with light creamy-gold painted walls, and interior walls have been repositioned to add more treatment rooms for patients. The ambient lighting is warm and homelike, rather than the usual harsh institutional lighting. The ergonomic treatment chairs, designed by NASA, offer heated massage. “Everything for the comfort of our patients,” said Kathleen. It is another way Dr. Shaw is giving back to the community, she added, by investing in his office to make dental visits as pleasant as possible.
In addition to patient comfort, patient care is also important. State-of-the-art digital X-ray equipment means more minutely detailed images that can be viewed on a large monitor screen, and, in case the patient needs to be referred to an oral surgeon, the images can be emailed directly to the surgeon’s office. In each treatment room, there is also a flatscreen monitor mounted to the ceiling, allowing patients to see exactly what the dentist sees. At the end of a hallway, a digital panorex can take the panoramic mouth X-rays without the uncomfortable plastic mouth insert.
At the very back of the office is the small room for the in-house lab that had to be temporarily closed during most of the renovations. It will be up and running again soon.
Back up front, where the television waited to be taken home, an excited Justina Cone arrived straight from work with her mother, Juanita Cone. As it happened, her uncle, Roy Kinsey, had just finished with his dental appointment moments earlier, and so was on hand for the presentation. Hardly able to believe her good luck, Cone told those present, “If you had called me about this tomorrow (April Fool’s Day), I would have really thought you were joking!”
But this was no April Fool’s joke – the very real television in the very large cardboard box was hefted up onto a couple of work stools. Dr. Shaw and his staff then posed with Cone and her prize, while her mother and uncle took turns snapping photos.
“I am thrilled to be the winner of Dr. Shaw’s television drawing,” said Cone, who also spoke of framing her winning ticket. “It’s amazing to me when I learn of adults who haven’t seen a dentist since childhood. Don’t neglect your dental health. Studies reveal its importance to our overall well being, especial as we age. Give Dr. Shaw and his team a chance to prove local dentistry can be convenient, administered comfortably and with professionalism.”
Dr. Shaw and his staff pose for a congratulatory photo with winner Justina Cone. Left to right: Kim Stewart, Kathryn Stallings, Laura Sykes, Kathleen Shaw, Dr. Roderick Shaw III, winner Justina Cone and her uncle, Roy Kinsey.
Comments are closed.