About the Doctors
If you've gotten this deep into the website, then you are probably wondering about our story as individuals. Because we like to think of our patients as family, we are happy to share some of the highs points of our journey thus far....
Getting to Know Us Better
Doctor Chuck and I grew up in a small farming town in the Midwest called Lincoln, Illinois. Where we come from, the corn and soy bean fields go on forever. The horizon is so big, and so uncomplicated (not a hill for hundreds of miles) that it seems like the sunsets last for hours. Life has the simple pace and all the best culture that an agricultural heartland could offer. We were childhood sweethearts, married in 1981, and both graduated from the University of Kentucky with Doctoral degrees in Medical Dentistry in 1987.
Upon graduation from dental school, we were asked to take over the dental practice of a colleague in central Italy. (We carry Irish passports so we could practice in Europe.... It's a long story.) This was a grand adventure and when we returned to the U.S., we chose to settle in Vermont because of the area's familiar rural quality of life and our love of the outdoors.
We have young children, 2 daughters and a son, and live in Fairfield Vermont - about 15 minutes east of St. Albans. Here in 2010, our children are ages 10, 12 and 16.
We both have a passion for gardening, wilderness canoe-camping, fitness and we are amateur naturalists and have been wildlife rehabilitatorsfor many years. In fact, we have worked with the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife as the only licensed home for orphaned moose calves since the early 1990's.
For sports enthusiasts, you might find it interesting to know that
Dr. Chuck played basketball for the University of Kentucky and was the team Captain in 1982. Dr. Chuck was one of the top 20 high school All-American players in 1978. In those years, Kentucky was the perennial powerhouse of college basketball, winning the NCAA finals the year that they recruited him. Dr. Chuck played against the likes of Michael Jordan, James Worthy, and Charles Barkley. He was always given the toughest defensive assignment on the court because of his smarts and hustle. Chuck was drafted in the 7th round by the Chicago Bulls, but by then, we had both been completely overwhelmed by the drama and intensity of "big time basketball". We decided to have an adventure and Chuck chose to play professionally in Spain before going to dental school.
When we moved to Europe to play professionally, we lived in a remote part of northwestern Spain. It was an amazing experience. For months, Dr. Chuck was one of the leading scorers and rebounders in Europe, and the future looked secure for a long, fruitful basketball career,.. but the fates intervened and Chuck's basketball career was ended by a catastrophic broken Achilles Tendon. This sent us bothback to the USA to complete our long-term educational goal of becoming dentists. And here we are today, just delighted with the way things turned out.
I (Dr. Lynda) have a substantial and unusual artistic sideline: I make large metal sculptures with found objects and junkyard metal pieces. I learned to weld in the early 1990's at our local Adult Learning course. Since then, Dr. Chuck has had an easy task when buying birthday and Christmas presents for me - What woman in her right mind wouldn't want a Plasma Cutter, or a new Acetylene Torch tip?! A tour of our yard and garden is a lesson in true recycling - life imitating art! At our home I have about 30 sculptures made from a wild assortment of metal tools, machine parts, and other scraps. At the office, in July of 2010, my 12 year old daughter and I built a life-sized Stegosaurus, whose head and tail move in the breeze. You can drive by and see it from Congress Street.
In the final analysis, our life experiences have taught us to look at every day and every patient visit as a gift. Chuck and I are about relationships with our patients and team.
High-quality relationships and high-quality dental care are not accidents. We enjoy maintaining rigorous continuing education schedules and we very often take as much as 4 times the amount of continuing education coursework required for licensing in Vermont.
In fact, Dr. Chuck has served the Vermont State Board of Dentistry for years, where he helps oversee the quality of dental care that all Vermonters receive. Dr. Chuck is past president of the Vermont State Dental Society and remains active in that organization whenever he is called upon.
Currently, we are in the initial stages of creating a foundation that will connect people with gifts, to a world of need. We are recognizing that more and more, people want to include a period of "giving back" in their life's journey. But just how to get started... where to begin when you want to find and connect deeply with a worthwhile charity. The Fiddlehead Foundation will become "the connector" part of the puzzle. You can read more about that exciting "work in progress" if you scroll down this page and click on the icon that looks like a globe.
We have made extensive study of leadership and business management for 20 years. We are alumni of a 7-year dental management program based on the principles of the Harvard School of Business. For this reason, we hope that you will always find a refreshingly eager and knowledgeable team waiting to serve at Fiddlehead Dental with exceptionally good management and communication systems. The whole team is committed to seeing that you receive the finest skill, care, and judgment in a warm, friendly environment where comfort, conversation and laughter are a priority.
Our goal is to work with you in a collaborative relationship to see that you are able to attain, maintain, and enjoy a beautiful smile for a lifetime.