New Dentists All Smiles
By SHELLEY HANSON Staff WriterArticle Photos
WHEELING - When Trey Wilcox was 3 years old, he fell down and broke his front teeth.
His father, local dentist Dr. Craig Wilcox, performed a "baby root canal" of sorts to put him back together again.
Fastforward 22 years, and Trey Wilcox is now a dentist just like his dad - or at least he is trying to be.
"Working with my father is exceptional. And when you don't mind going to work every day - that's a plus," said Wilcox, who is one of West Virginia University's newest School of Dentistry graduates.
Other local dental school graduates include Dr. Mark Sapon, son of dentist Dr. Pete Sapon of Wheeling, and Dr. Amber Bauer of Wheeling who is working in Freeport, Ohio.
Wilcox noted he originally planned to attend medical school, but after realizing its vigorous schedule and lifestyle afterward, he decided against it.
"Dad was never on-call. He was always there for us," Wilcox said of his childhood.
Wilcox, 25, joined his father's practice in July. To date, he has enjoyed meeting new people. Gaining the trust of new patients has been a confidence builder, he said.
And Wheeling, his hometown, is growing on him.
"It's looking pretty good now. I've traveled around a little bit. I've got a good thing going here," Wilcox said. "It's looking positive. We're in a good location."
Wilcox noted he learned the basics at school, but now he is learning the tricks of the trade from his father. He has noticed people don't want to think about taking care of their teeth and gums until they are in pain.
"People have to be more aware of their dental health. It gets overlooked. And insurance-wise they get medical insurance, but not dental insurance," Wilcox said.
Wilcox's mom, Debbie, said she hopes her son stays in Wheeling.
"We're very proud he decided to come back to the Wheeling area," she said. "It's a great place to raise a family. So many young people leave. We're excited he came back. It's also nice for his father."
Craig Wilcox said his son learned dentistry at school, but he will teach him what it takes to run the business: how to keep the books, do payroll, pay taxes, order supplies, and take care of the workers and patients, of course.
"I'm glad he's back. I hope he stays back," Craig Wilcox said.
He noted there are several other local dentists who have children who are attending dental school or plan to attend.
Mark Sapon, 27, currently is practicing in Charlottesville, Va., but said he may come back to Wheeling some day. He also recently married. Along with his dad, his wife, Meaghan, helped him get through dental school with her own healthy smile.
His reason for becoming a dentist is simple: he wanted to help people.
"I always saw the dentist as a good thing. People never want to go to the dentist. They get a bad rap," he noted.
But people, he said, need to remember to help themselves by brushing and flossing on a daily basis, along with visiting their dentist regularly for cleanings and checkups.
"People get out of school and start working and go to the doctor for yearly checkups. They tend to forget that infection in the mouth, just like anywhere else in the body, can be harmful and affect overall well being," Sapon said. "They need to realize the mouth is connected to the rest of the body."
Sapon said parents should have their children visit the dentist early, about 6 years old, to help get them acquainted with the process and the people involved in dental care. And to help protect their molars, Sapon suggests that children receive a sealant to prevent future cavities in hard-to-brush spots.
"The biggest thing is making the person feel more comfortable. ... They don't want to be there. If you make them feel more comfortable, you can help them out. That's the point of the health care profession," Sapon said.
For Bauer, becoming a dentist wasn't a family thing. But she was influenced by one, no less.
She wanted to become a dentist since she was 8 years old. Her biggest influence was her orthodontist at the time, Dr. Dan Joseph of Wheeling.
"It's been a lifelong dream. It's weird now that it's actually happened," she said.
Bauer, 25, lives in Wheeling and works at the Freeport Family Health Center. Freeport is located near Piedmont Lake in Ohio.
"School was school and now we're out and it's exciting. You do a lot more and meet a lot of people on the way," Bauer said.
Bauer, the daughter of Roy and Gigi Bauer of Wheeling, said she wanted to practice in a clinic-type setting after working in one during school. She enjoys the atmosphere, though being a dentist, at times, can be hazardous.
"I've had some chomp down pretty good, but it didn't break the skin," Bauer said of patients accidentally biting her fingers.
Some people's teeth, she noted, need more work than others.
"I see a lot of people with a lot of decay. It's not their fault essentially," Bauer said, noting some just aren't well educated when it comes to dental hygiene.
Others, she said, just didn't have access to dental care.
"It can be overwhelming, but you just take it one step at a time," she said.
Bauer said it was her plan to come back to Wheeling after graduation.
"I always knew deep down that I wanted to come back home," she said.
Of the three new dentists, Bauer was the only one who said she'd never had a cavity.
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EllisWyatt
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11-09-09 7:04 PM
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CLUELESS Couldn't you at least post something funny if you are going to try and get a rise out of me? No wonder liberal TV, newspapers and talk radio fail. You liberals lack HUMOR! Say what you will about Rush Limbaugh-the man is funny! Liberals are bitter, as befits their status as hovel dwelling Pravda readers.
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GETACLUE
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11-09-09 2:44 PM
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EllisWyatt knows all to well the tooth gap word he is one that married his cousin.
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Shark88
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11-09-09 9:52 AM
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Ellis....eastern kentucky would give w.va. a run for their money in the tooth gap department.
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wvhoopie
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11-09-09 6:47 AM
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Ellis only understands stereotypes. Idiot.
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EllisWyatt
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11-08-09 11:19 AM
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Congratualations! You have your work cut out for you in West Virginia, tooth gap capital of the world. There is probably not much work for dentists in WV due to the lack of teeth on which they can work. Maybe Barry Hussein Sotero can require dentists to give people new teeth at the dentists' expense. After all, why should people take care of themselves? Who are these greedy doctors and dentists to expect to earn money after spending 8 years in school, 3-5 years in training and borrowing $150,000-$200,000? How dare they gouge the people!
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