We are about to finish our 15th year in our new location! I am amazed that the time has gone so quickly and I am also so incredibly grateful to all of you for trusting us to provide your oral healthcare. Since the age of 3, dentistry is the only thing I ever wanted to do and I am so blessed that all of you have helped make that dream a reality.
I graduated from the University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Dentistry in 1987 & opened my office in Lee’s Summit in 1989. Some of you have been with me so long that I have seen you get married, have children, watched them grow up, and now I am treating your grandchildren. I’m hard pressed to think of a greater honor than that.
Of course that also means that I have been practicing for a while now. In April I passed my 35 year mark as a dentist. I can remember when simply “being” 35 seemed old and now I’ve been a doctor that long. The time has passed pretty quickly.
Now with all this talk of time passing I do NOT want you to think I’m retiring. Let me say that again, “I am NOT retiring”. I’ve come to the conclusion that I simply love what I do SO much that I am not ready to hang up my spurs yet.
However, there will be some changes happening in January and I want you to be aware of them. I have decided to sell the practice to my sidekick Dr. Rachel Brunker. Because of that, the name of the office will change. The sign out front and our website will be “Advanced Dental Associates”.
Other than the name change, everything else will pretty much stay the same. We will have the same hours, the same caring staff, and the same attention to detail that you have come to expect from us. Basically, I feel the need to put the pieces in place for the next generation. In the last 10-15 years I’ve given thought to the fact that at some point someone else would be responsible for caring for all of you. Having that thought in mind, I looked for someone that shares my passion of taking the best care of people that I can. I absolutely *love* what I do and that is mainly because of my patients. I felt it was important to find a doctor I could transition my office to that would try as hard as I do to give you the best possible care.
I’ve known Dr. Brunker for quite a while now. Some of you may even remember when she shadowed in the office before heading to dental school. She is an incredible doctor and clinician with a strong desire for education and a love of healthcare technology. I know in my heart that she possesses all of the special qualities I was looking for in the person to lead the practice into the future and to take care of all of you.
This transition is made even easier with the continued presence of Dr. Michael Poppa. He joined our practice this past summer and has been a tremendous asset to our team. If you haven't met him yet, trust me, you are going to love him! He has great skills, is compassionate, and is the kind of man that I respect and admire. I am SO glad he joined us!
I will continue to be in the office, just like always. Dr. Brunker will be in charge and one of my goals is to be as good a helper in this transition as I can be. The most important part of this change is that this office will continue on the path that got us here. That means, as a patient, you really won’t notice much difference other than the name change.
We all love what we do here and I am really excited to see that things are taking shape for the next generation of patients. In the future, those grandchildren I am now taking care of will be able to bring their children to the office and know that the commitment and level of care will be the same!
I am SO proud of Dr. Brunker. She’s going to be an amazing practice owner. I am also SO grateful to all of you. This all started from when I was a little boy with a dream, but it has been ALL of you that have made those dreams come true!
I look forward to seeing you soon and I look forward to continuing my role in your care.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Brunker!
Sincerely,
Dr. F
