Superfriendly Dental - The Name Says It All

When Wesley J. Burke, D.D.S., made the decision to move to Ellijay in 1973 and open up his own practice, he based that decision on two factors. “I had a 3 month old daughter and was looking for a good place to raise a child, and obviously was looking for a place that needed a dentist,” he says. Today 35 years later, it seems he made the right choice.

With a patient base of 3,000 to 5,000 patients at any given time, Dr. Burke has certainly had his hands full. With a very committed staff of 13 ladies, Superfriendly Dental offers patients ages 3 and older a wide range of services. This includes all general dentistry care such as routine cleanings and extractions as well as more complex treatments such as root canals and restorations over implants. They also provide cosmetic dentistry services, including teeth whitening, veneers, crowns and dentures.

The Vision

Of course, Dr. Burke’s success with the practice didn’t happen over night. Rather, it took quite some time to convince local residents to come see a dentist. “When I first moved to town, it was a struggle to get patients to accept more than just a simple filling or extraction,” Dr. Burke says. “They didn’t want to hear other options. It was an uphill battle because that’s all they had ever been exposed to for generations.”

To combat this problem, Dr. Burke spent a great deal of time educating his patients on what the dental procedures were and what treatment options were available for various conditions. Along the way, he started seeing more and more children because their parents wanted then to have better care than they had as children. This trend continued for several years, so much that Dr. Burke now treats second and even third generations of the same family. “The demand for something more than just basic dentistry has grown by light years in my 35 years of practice, making dentistry even more fun and exciting but most of all, very gratifying,” says Dr. Burke.

As residents became more educated on dental care and actively sought out treatment, Dr. Burke’s practice really began to grow. Therefore, to help with the workload, he brought on an associate dentist, Cynthia “Cindy” P. Hall, D.M.D., in 1999. In 2001, Dr. Hall became a partner in the dental practice. She took the opportunity to join Superfriendly Dental because she says she felt the practice was a good fit. Since that time, Dr. Hall says she has seen how the patients’ view of dental care has taken another noticeable turn for the better. Thanks to shows like Extreme Makeover, people actually can see what dentistry can do, She says. “I think that opened a lot of eyes of where people may have considered dentistry just a necessity before, that they didn’t appreciate the opportunities to do more.”

However, Dr. Hall cautions, while people can do some amazing things with cosmetic dentistry, it’s imperative that patients consider their dental and overall health first and foremost before entertaining thoughts on cosmetic procedures. “Everybody doesn’t need an Extreme Makeover smile,” She says. “That isn’t what it’s all about.” In addition to providing dental education for their current patients as well as potential patients, the dentists behind Superfriendly Dental also pride themselves on living up to their company name. “I think that patients feel very confident we’re going to treat them as well as we do our own family or friends and we will always have their best interest at heart,” Dr. Hall says. “I think that’s part of why Dr. Burke’s has a lot of the patients that he’s had over the past 35 years.”

“Their basically family, not just patients,” Dr. Burke agrees. “You develop close relationships with them and maintain that throughout the years. You may not see them but for an hour or two, tow or three times a year, but you see them out in the public, you know their kids, you know what’s going on in their lives. Over the years you continue to maintain that close relationship and that’s probably the most important aspect of keeping the patients comfortable and happy.”

Happiness seems to infuse the office of Superfriendly Dental. Whether you’re sitting in the reception area waiting to be seen or in a treatment room with state of the art equipment, you can be assured you will always be treated with respect, warmth and a genuine smile.

While both dentists focus a great deal of attention on their patients, they, too, receive quite a reward from their work. Probably my single, most gratifying aspect of taking care of patients is the close relationship you develop over the years with them,” Dr. Burke says. “Being able to identify with them, talk to them, share things, laugh with them and occasionally cry with them; in my book, that’s really a lot of what life’s all about for me.”

When asked what she enjoys most about her job, Dr. Hall has a simple, yet sincere response. “Caring for people would definitely be my answer to that,” Dr. Hall says. “I enjoy that, in any given day of my life, I really do take care of somebody age 3 to possibly 95. I enjoy that variety and enjoy people. I really love what I do.”

So what does the future hold for the folks at Superfriendly Dental? Well, for now, expect more of the same care from both dentists. However, look for Dr. Burke to play a lesser role in the next five years or so. “It’s not etched in stone, but, theoretically, I’ll be semi-retired or retired, maybe working one or two days a week versus full time,” he explains. Dr. Hall, though, hopes to be around for quite some time to come. “In five years, I’ll still be driving on strong, she says. “We certainly intend to phase in a doctor that will replace Dr. Burke. Our family of patients has grown too large to ever be a single-doctor practice again. So there will definitely be another dentist here at that time and we’ll certainly still be practicing here in Ellijay.”

For more than three decades, the dentists and staff of Superfriendly Dental have served their community, and, based on that longevity, have served it well. Therefore, look for this thriving dental practice to be around for many more successful years.

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