At Davidson Family Dentistry our employees with school-aged children cannot work from home AND help patients with their dental care needs. We needed a creative solution to support these families as schools rolled out various models of learning inside and outside the school building this fall.
Rather than risk the loss of valuable employees who would be forced to stay home for online learning classes, we hired two facilitators. Ms. Katy Fukuda has a background in education; she taught English in Tokyo, Japan and middle school in Pennsylvania and moved all of her curriculum online over Spring Break in March 2020 before moving back to her hometown of Ankeny. With a newborn at home, Ms. Fukuda was looking for a creative way to use her skills and our learning collective was a perfect fit. Ms. Kelly Barchinger has a background as a nanny, camp counselor and in hotel management/event planning and she coordinates the important play – both inside and outside – aspect of a child’s day as school is not continuous learning from 7am-5pm (the hours the dental clinic is open). We have been operating our learning cooperative since the start of the 2020-2021 school year at no charge to our employees.
The learning collective is open to any of our employees with flexible hours tailored to fit school schedules across 4 metro districts, work schedules, and older students “trying it out at home”. Our busiest day is Tuesdays with 8 students in attendance. Right now, we have students in 1st-6th grades using the collective with four 3rd graders as our biggest group. If metro school districts switch from in-person schedules to all online or hybrid, we have the capacity to meet the needs of all of our employees.
Both parents and children seem to like this arrangement. The parents have fewer worries knowing that their children are safe, supervised and keeping up with schoolwork while the parents can continue working. The children are always excited to come see their new friends.
We are excited that our employees and students have embraced this new program.
Challenging times call for creative solutions!
Posted September 15th, 2020
After 5 years of treating and preventing dental disease at Davidson Family Dentistry. Dr. John Biegert will be leaving us effective September 3, 2020. We will miss his caring and competent skills and wish him the best in his new endeavors. We will all be working diligently to get all of his existing treatment plans into his schedule before he leaves. We are reworking the schedule so that the treatments that cannot be finished before he leaves are absorbed by other dentists here in our office.
Posted August 24th, 2020August & September plans changed again? What to do?
Vacations Cancelled
Concerts Cancelled
State Fair Cancelled
Festivals Cancelled
Iowa – ISU Football Cancelled
Downtown Farmer’s Market Cancelled
Iowa Cubs Cancelled
Iowa Wild Uncertain
Schools Uncertain
Restaurants Limited
Churches Limited
Shopping Limited
Public Gatherings Limited
Movie Theater Limited
Library Limited
Museums Limited
Polk County Offices Closed
State Capital Closed
Davidson Family Dentistry Open
With everything closed, uncertain, limited or cancelled, Davidson Family Dentistry is ready to fill your empty schedule. Our facility is open with all Federal and State safety mandates in place PLUS many additional safety measures we have added for your protection.
This is a great time to redirect your budget and take care of yourself. If you have dental treatment that needs completed, now is the time!
Call us at (515) 279-3848 to schedule.
Posted August 10th, 2020On May 6, 2020, Governor Kim Reynolds allowed the resumption of routine dental services throughout the State of Iowa starting Friday, May 8, 2020. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming some of our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.
Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.
Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In some cases we have taken additional steps that we believe are prudent to protect patients and staff during this time that COVID-19 is still active in our state.
You will see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:
We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice.
Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.
Making Smiles Happen,
Davidson Family Dentistry
Posted May 7th, 2020
We continue to operate under Governor Reynolds proclamation regarding delaying routine dental procedures until May 15th. Both old and new patients are being seen with
We have attempted to determine patients who fall within those categories and call them. However, if you fit any of the above classifications and have not scheduled with us, please give us a call at 515-279-3848.
Monday – Friday we have a dentist scheduled for emergency patients. We will not be doing any hygiene or cleanings of any kind unless pain is present.
Plans are being made for after we are allowed to return to doing more routine procedures. We have already updated a number of our health safety systems (new UV air filtration system designed to kill viruses circulating through the HVAC system, deep cleaning of all surfaces in the office, face shields and/or N95 masks for some procedures, and new protocols for check-in). We are exploring adding more hours and offering extended hours during the recovery period. However, we will need to see what additional mandates or guidelines are provided by various governing authorities.
Be assured that we are all anxious to be of service to you again for your dental needs. We have missed seeing all of our patients and after this forced separation we are excited to see you again soon.
Posted April 29th, 2020We continue to operate under Governor Reynolds proclamation regarding delaying routine dental procedures until May 1st. Both old and new patients are being seen with
We have attempted to determine patients who fall within those categories and call them. However, if you fit any of the above classifications and have not scheduled with us, please give us a call at 515-279-3848.
Monday – Friday we have a dentist scheduled for emergency patients. Commencing Monday, April 20th, we will also have a dental hygienist scheduled for emergency patients who need deep cleanings or periodontal maintenance and are having pain or discomfort in their gums.
Plans are being made for after we are allowed to return to doing more routine procedures. We have already updated a number of our health safety systems (new UV air filtration system designed to kill viruses circulating through the HVAC system, deep cleaning of all surfaces in the office, face shields and/or N95 masks for some procedures, and new protocols for check-in). We are exploring adding more hours and offering extended hours during the recovery period. However, we will need to see what additional mandates or guidelines are provided by various governing authorities.
Be assured that we are all anxious to be of service to you again for your dental needs. We have missed seeing all of our patients and after this forced separation we are excited to see you again soon.
Posted April 15th, 2020
Effective today Tuesday, March 17, 2020 our office will be closing until April 6, 2020.
At Davidson Family Dentistry our first priority is to our patients, staff, and community. We have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation. The American Dental Association and the Iowa Dental Association have recently announced their recommendation that all elective treatment for the next 3 weeks be delayed. We will follow this recommendation. Elective procedures include all cleanings and routine restorative work or any procedures that can wait 3 weeks without issue.
We will be seeing patients on a limited emergency basis by appointment. We will have a staff member in the office Monday through Thursday from 8-5, and Fridays 8-2, to take your calls (515-279-3848) and make the same day appointments for emergency cases.
If you have an appointment scheduled with us in the next 3 weeks, our staff will be reaching out to you to reschedule.
We will be updating our status through email, text, and FaceBook should the situation change.
We appreciate your understanding and support as we navigate this unprecedented situation.
Thank you,
Davidson Family Dentistry
Posted March 17th, 2020After 12 years of preventing and treating dental disease at Davidson Family Dentistry, Dr. Vonnahme will be leaving us effective March 13, 2020. We will all miss her kindness and caring, competent skills and hope that she continues to stay in touch. We will all be working diligently to get all of her existing treatment plans into her schedule before she leaves. We are reworking the schedule so that the treatments that cannot be finished before she leaves are absorbed by other dentists here in our office.
We wish her all the best.
Posted February 28th, 2020Merry Christmas, Season’s Greetings, and Happy Holidays from all of us at Davidson Family Dentistry. Here is our news of the year 2019.
New Employees
Many of you who came from our Beaverdale office in 2005 see our growth in size and all the new employees. Of the original 10 employees that came with Dr. Dave from Beaverdale, we still have 7 of our original team. One retired and two took new challenges.
Dental assistant Julyn returned to us in May from a brief employment excursion in a local orthodontic office. “Sometimes what we want is right where we are” to quote a quasi-famous dentist that you all know. Welcome home Julyn. Originally, Julyn was from Fairfield, Iowa. We were fortunate to recruit her to our office when she transplanted herself to the Capital City. Julyn works mainly with Dr. Michael.
Dr. Cameron Clause comes to us from The University of Iowa College of Dentistry. Dr. Clause is originally from Mankato, Minnesota and had a temporary landing stop in Sioux Falls, South Dakota before finding us. Like Dr. Michael, Dr. Clause is the son of a dentist. To our good fortune, Dr. Clause is engaged to Dr. Holly Steger from Indianola, which is what brought him from Sioux Falls to Des Moines.
Dental assistant Meredith joined us in June from the same orthodontic office where Julyn had worked. Meredith works mainly with Dr. Stemper. Welcome Meredith.
Business assistant ReChelle joined us in June. She is a registered dental assistant but enjoys the business side of the office. She had experience in other offices before joining us part-time.
Dental hygienist Amber I. came to us in July. Amber is originally from Algona and worked for one of Dr. Dave’s good friends in Algona before moving to the bright lights of Des Moines. We are excited to have her as part of our hygiene team.
Dental assistant and business assistant Chrislyn joined us in August. Chrislyn works both in the front office areas and in the back helping out wherever necessary.
Business assistant Deb came to us in October. Deb is experienced in dentistry and has returned to our profession from management in the food service and hospitality world. Deb is originally from Arizona and had worked with assistant Aubrey at another office before joining us.
Dental assistant Nancy S. is our most recent addition. Nancy joined us shortly after Dr. Dave’s retirement in November. Nancy is an experienced dental assistant. She works primarily with Dr. Biegert and has hit the ground running. She adds a bilingual assisting element with a fluency in Spanish.
Babies
Dr. John Biegert added the only girl for our Davidson Family Dentistry family in June. Baby Alice was born in July to Dr. John and his wife Erin. Alice joins her big sister Rose. Congratulations Dr. John and Erin.
Dental assistant Liz gave birth in July to her first baby, a boy named Logan. Congratulations to Liz and her husband Keith. Logan is their first child.
Dr. Alyson Baier had a baby boy named Hudson in August. Congratulations to Dr. Alyson and her husband Andrew. Hudson is their first child.
Dental hygienist Sarah B had a baby boy named Carver in August. Congratulations to Sarah and her husband Trent. Carver joins his big brother Grady.
Dental hygienist Amber F. had a baby boy named Bodie in October. Congratulations to Amber and her husband Matthew. Bodie is their first child.
Dental assistant Amela had a baby boy named Kenan in October. Kenan joins his big brother Vedad. Congratulations to Amela and her husband Ricky.
New Equipment
This year we added a new Quattro as part of our instrument sterilization package. As you know, equipment and instrument sterilization and the protection of your health is of utmost importance to us. We have 3 autoclave type sterilizers and a whole host of other techniques and procedures with additional offsite monitoring to ensure our accuracy. The Quattro helps with this mission.
We also purchased a new computer server and several new computer stations. With state-of-the-art dental technology we must have the computer hardware to support our high tech dentistry.
New Training
Dr. Clause had training in dental implant placement. Implants are the future of dentistry and we are pleased that the dentists at Davidson Family Dentistry are all active in implant placement and/or restoration. The future is now at DFD.
All of our doctors, dental hygienists, and dental assistants spent well over 200 collective hours in continuing dental education this past year. We learned more on dental products and procedures as well as updates on sterilization, personal protection, HIPPA compliance, and our OSHA mandatory training.
Our business assistants were involved in insurance, HIPPA and OSHA training and other education to help you negotiate your dental visits as easily as possible.
Dr. Michael, Dr. Dave, Diane, and our team-leads spend countless hours learning and teaching to provide an office ”culture” that is second to none. The reason we are here is for you.
Insurance Changes
In September, Davidson Family Dentistry joined the network at United Healthcare Dental. In November we left the Aetna dental network, although we continue to process all insurance for our patients.
Expanded Functions
In 2012, the Iowa Board of Dentistry approved Dr. Dave to teach a class for dental assistants and dental hygienists in nine specific dental procedures: making temporary crowns, monitoring nitrous oxide, placement of periodontal dressings, placement and removal of dry socket medications, testing pulp vitality, final impressions, applying cavity liners and bases, occlusal registrations, and gingival retraction. In 2015, the Board of Dentistry added two more procedures to the list of approved dental procedures: preliminary charting and removal of adhesives. Dr. Dave was approved to teach the additional classes.
Dr. Dave has not only taught our own staff but he has had dental assistants and hygienists from all over the state.
In 2019, the Board of Dentistry revamped expanded functions and again Dr. Dave has prepared coursework for the changes. Cementing temporary crowns and placement of a class 1 temporary fillings are the two new classes.
Dental Board
Many of you already know that Dr. Michael Davidson has served our state by being one of five dentists chosen by the governor to be part of a nine person Board of Dentistry overseeing and setting policy for Iowa in regards to dental practices and for the protection of the public. After this current three year term, Dr. Michael has decided not to submit his name again to the governor. With the retirement of Dr. Dave, his young family, and in general a busy life, he has decided to withdraw from this large commitment.
Retirements
Star (Lois) retired in August. She had promised Dr. Dave she would work as long as he worked. When Dr. Dave announced his retirement, so did she. Star has been Dr. Dave’s right hand since 1986 and she is already missed but we are happy and grateful for her many, many years of faithful service to our practice and our patients. Good luck in your new adventures Star.
After 39 years, Dr. Dave (blog writer) retired from active practice as of November 6. Dr. Dave had been looking for an additional dentist for a couple of years because he knew the magical 65 was approaching. This last June we found Dr. Cameron Clause and knew he was the dentist for which we had been searching. Dr. Dave is now the “permanent substitute”. He jokes that “if we need a right-hander from the bull pen, I’m available”. So far, he has been called in once in December. He was very appreciative of the hundreds who came to his retirement party and others who called, emailed or sent cards with encouraging words. Dr. Dave and Dr. Michael are the owners of the business, Davidson Family Dentistry, so Dr. Dave continues to watch over the patients and the business. Even with his retirement, it is business as usual at Davidson Family Dentistry.
Holiday Wishes
Merry Christmas, Season’s Greetings, and Happy Holidays to you all. We are very thankful and grateful you have chosen to place your dental health with us. All 45 of us at Davidson Family Dentistry wish for you a blessed season and a healthy and prosperous 2020.
Dr. David Davidson
Posted December 23rd, 2019Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.
There are three main types of sleep apnea,
SYMPTOMS
The most common signs and symptoms of obstructive and central sleep apnea include:
RISK FACTORS
Sleep apnea can affect anyone, even children. But certain factors increase your risk.
COMPLICATIONS
Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition. Complications can include:
Consequences of sleep apnea may become very serious and affect quality of life. Davidson Family Dentistry offers you the opportunity to come in for a consultation and evaluation. Call our office (515-279-3848) to schedule an appointment to see if you would be a candidate for an oral device. If sleep apnea is diagnosed we may be able to fit you with a custom oral sleep appliance.
Source: Mayo Clinic
Posted August 21st, 2019
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