Barry’s Bay Family Dental Practice celebrated its third anniversary under the ownership of Dr. Zulfar Moledina on August 10 and that was the day The Current visited the practice to learn about the changes he has implemented since 2018. His enthusiasm for bringing state-of-the-art dentistry to rural Ottawa Valley remains undiminished, as does Dr. Moledina’s feelings for this area: “I’ve fallen in love with the place.” Despite having practices in Ottawa, Pembroke and Petawawa, he now spends three days per week in Barry’s Bay, describing it as “Having the best of both worlds.” Above (Back row, from left) Dr. Brian Bishop, Shelby Cashubec, Trisha Stewart, Dr. Zulfar Moledina, Valerie Kerr, Tory O’Shea. (Front row) Lynn Hewson, Jennifer Villemaire
Upgrades to the office
Covid regulations have brought many changes, restrictions and difficulties, but as Dr. Moledina puts it, “The problem is when you do these major renovations you need to close the office down and then you’re not able to take care of patients. So Covid actually encouraged us to move forward. During the first wave, we were closed for three months.” He applauds municipal staff who, despite the first wave shutdown, encouraged people to apply for building permits. Because of this, he said, “I had it all planned…. As soon as we were able to do a build, I think we found out on the Thursday, and we were able to start on Monday.”
Receptionist Valerie Kerr explained that people in Barry’s Bay and the surrounding community deserve a good, up-to-date dental office. “We do everything here – root canals, implants, everything.” She pointed out the upgrades during a tour of the building:
Infection control: Covid required installation of doors throughout the building. Kerr explained, thought, that the biggest thing is the galley style sterilization (steri) centre. Dr. Moledina insisted on a state-of-the-art system. Not only does the steri centre have two main areas (Red = dirty, Blue = clean and sterilized) but the process means every item is digitized, recorded and the foolproof system will not function if there is a problem; instead it sends a message so staff can respond. After cleaning, all equipment leaves the system sealed in a steri-pack and is not opened until the patient’s treatment. The inventory system keeps a record of all Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as gowns, shields.
Digital imaging: Everything is digitized so that patients’ X-rays can be easily uploaded and transferred. The panoramic imaging machine gives an ear to ear views of the patient’s mouth. Explaining that it is useful to see impacted wisdom teeth, Kerr says, “[It’s] really cool when you have a little person; you can see all the baby teeth still to erupt.” Dr. Moledina says, “We are keeping abreast of all the technology; we have the scanners here as well. We have a Cone-beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) machine in our Petawawa office so we are able to work with our other office and send patients there to have the special imaging.” He explains that he standardized the software in all four of his practices in Ottawa, Petawawa, Pembroke and Barry’s Bay “by having the same software – management software, software for the inter oral radiographs. This way it makes it so much easier.”
Additional treatment rooms: Each dentist works in two adjoining operatories, there are two additional operatories for the dental hygienists to use, and a separate area for denture checks, emergency appointments, etc.
Furniture: Modular dental storage cabinets by A-dec are evident throughout, with additional customized features such as built-in X-ray equipment that can be shared by adjoining operatories. Dr. Moledina favours the A-dec chairs as well, saying “They are one of the high-end brands that we like.” He points out the value of buying good quality, “The other chairs that I have … we have just reupholstered them; mechanically they are just the same.’
New faces
Dr. Brian Bishop joined the practice last September. Like Dr. Moledina his dentistry training was done at the Western University, and he had practised in Bancroft since 1977. He is no stranger to Barry’s Bay, though, having bought his cottage on Kamaniskeg Lake in 1976. He also recalls this very dental office in its earlier years saying, “I remember the way it was because I used to come here as a kid.” Covid restrictions in 2020 closed the Bancroft dental office where he worked at the same time as Dr. Moledina’s practice closed, but he did not return when it reopened. Dr. Bishop said the owners of the practice did not make “the changes to make me feel comfortable going back.” When Dr. Moledina gave him a tour of the upgraded office, he said, “It was wonderful and where I wanted to be working. And it was close to the cottage too, so that didn’t hurt.”
What the patients say
“Wow! It’s the Wow factor. They cannot believe the transformation. It’s just incredible. They are so happy to see the facilities updated,” says Dr. Moledina.
Dr. Bishop says, “I’ve had a lot of patients that were patients of mine in Bancroft who found me up here and they have said the same thing…. They walk in and say, This is beautiful. They feel safe. You can see all the procedures and processes to keep it that way.”
Dr. Moledina explains, “The staff really enjoy coming here … it’s a sense of belonging for them – they feel proud to be working here.”