To all of those who read this newsletter, thank you. I hope you find this monthly newsletter educational and interesting; perhaps it may even answer some questions about oral health that you may have been pondering. If you have any dental questions or topics you would like me to write about, please let me know! This newsletter will be a guest column from Dr. Krist on the history of our practice.
“As a child, my first dentist was my uncle Dr. John Torres. In 1945 after World War II, he came back to Tampa and limited his practice to children as a pedodontist. My mother Esther was his receptionist and dental assistant and she would work until noon every day so she could be home when my sister and I got home from school.
My other uncle Dr. Ed Van Epoel, who was married to my mother’s sister, returned to Tampa in 1953 and joined in practice with a man named Dr. Gus Perdigon. They built a building on Davis Island and practiced together until 1965. In 1965, Dr. Van Epoel built our current building and my uncle Dr. John Torres and my mother joined the Van Epoel practice. Unfortunately, Dr. Torres died the following year, so my mother Esther became Dr. Van Epoel’s front office receptionist.
During my high school and college days, I would clean the windows and worked in the dental lab at Dr. Van Epoel’s practice. After graduating dental school, I joined my uncle Dr. Van Epoel in practice in 1979 and we were partners until he retired in 1989. As a young dentist, I saw children as well as adults.
I first saw Dr. John Obeck as a patient when he was four years old. Now it is such an honor to have him as my partner and the future owner of this practice. Today, I am still treating patients of my uncles, Dr. John Torres and Dr. Ed Van Epoel. I am so proud to keep the 78 year old practice of Torres, Van Epoel, and Krist going strong. Furthermore, I am so excited to be able to pass the baton to Dr. John Obeck next year. We will continue to be a fee-for-service, referral based dental practice and we welcome and appreciate all new patients.”
Hopefully this letter provides you a nice snapshot of the history and the ethos of our practice. We strive to “do the right thing, and do the thing right” for every single patient every single day. Because our practice is largely dependent on referrals, it means so much to us and helps our business stay strong when our patients refer their friends and family to see us for their dental needs. Thank you so much for reading! If you have any dental questions or concerns you can always reach out to me or Dr. Krist!
Sincerely,
John Obeck, DDS
