The official ribbon cutting for the renovated offices of Dr. Adam Naler, D.D.S., is slated for Thursday, Dec. 6 at 504 Branch Street in Platte City.
In preparation for that, an email was sent out to patients of the practice asking them to show up for the event that will start at 4 p.m.
The dentist, who has been in practice in town since 2007, stayed within the Glenn Building during the remodel and now has a bigger office for his patients.
The remodeling work began on April 13 and wrapped up last month, with the new office opening for business on Oct. 16. There was a two-week down time when the space was getting finished as part of the new location incorporated 300 square feet of the old location, which was at 510 Branch Street.
The new location went into the space that was the former Sun Spa and Paradise Salon. Prior to that, the location housed a grocery store. Of the five suites in the Glenn Building, there is only one vacancy — Naler’s old location. The building was originally constructed in the 1950s by Truman and Betty Glenn.
The need for space was the main driver for Naler, a Blue Springs native, who took over the practice from the late Dr. Jack Swaney, D.D.S., who ran the practice from 1979 to 2007.
“I never could have all my employees working on the same day,” Naler said.
The former location had only four dental chairs and now the new location could double that in the future. There are now six chairs with room to grow.
The new location also features two offices, a lab room, a waiting area with a lot more room, and ADA restrooms.
“There were times in the old waiting room when there was no room for people,” Naler said. “We’d have six chairs and people were sitting in little kids chairs or would go wait in their car until we came out and got them.”
The waiting area has a modern look, while incorporating textures of the area. Naler also partnered with the Platte City Friends of the Arts and has artwork from local artists hanging on the walls and will rotate the items periodically.
There are currently nine employees on the payroll — four hygienists, two assistants and three front office employees. Naler previously had an associate dentist to help carry the workload and will look to hire another. He has a mix of patients from the city, as well as to the north and south.
The increased space also means the ability to see more patients. He could see no more than 37 a day in the old space, but within the first week at the new location, the practice saw 44 patients in one day. When the final two areas are finished, that number could bump up to 50.
“We can run all four hygienists at the same time now,” said Naler, a father of four with one more on the way. “I never could run more than 2 ½ in a given week.”