Expanded Dental Office Allows Doctor and His Sons to Help Even More Patients

Perimenis Dental Group - Trumbull, CT | Rory Perimenis, DDS

Dr. Rory Perimenis, a general dentist in Trumbull, Connecticut, has been in dentistry for over 25 years, and credits his father for his early interest in the profession. Over that time, he has helped a lot of patients, and he counts himself lucky in his business and life. Having the opportunity to build a new office with space for his two sons to practice with him has been a continuation of his positive experiences in dentistry—both in giving and receiving. His oldest son, RJ, already practices with him, handling the bulk of the office’s surgical cases. His younger son, Tyler, will complete dental school in 2020 and will become the third Perimenis to care for patients in the new 3,000-square-foot office.

The luxurious, eight-operatory office is high-end, with top-of-the-line finishes and equipment that allows Dr. Perimenis to provide the very best clinical care for his patients, so it might be surprising to learn that he started out in a much more modest dental office—his basement!

“I opened a 500-square-foot, two-operatory office in the basement of my house,” explained Dr. Perimenis, who accepted every insurance plan he could just to get new patients in the door in those early years. “After seven years of practicing at home, I moved Perimenis Dental Group to a four-operatory, 1,500-square-foot facility for the next 18 years.”

He might have stayed in that space, but he had to make room for two new partners…his sons. After years of coaching them in sports and teaching them the value of working hard and striving for their own success, they followed him into dentistry and soon, all three will work together in the family practice. That would have been impossible in the doctor’s existing office, which was set up (and worked well) for a solo doctor but was not large enough for three clinicians.

Before locating a new space in an existing office building that could be gutted and redesigned from scratch, the doctor was working out of a small, cramped office. The clinical area was not well-separated from the rest of the practice; in fact, a central file cabinet served as one of the walls! There were no spaces for true confidential patient conversations, or even staff discussion. The doctor had invested in significant post-graduate education and technology to offer cutting-edge procedures, including implant and same-day dentistry. There was so much potential, but with just four dental chairs, he could not expand those services as much as he wanted to.

From Left to Right: Rebecca Byrne, Regional Manager; Rich Foti, Field Sales Consultant;
Dr. Rory Perimenis; Scott Peterson, Equipment Sales Specialist.

Dr. Perimenis had been a long-time client of Henry Schein, working with Field Sales Consultant Rich Foti since 1997. Mr. Foti introduced the doctor to Equipment Sales Specialist Scott Peterson and Digital Technology Specialist Rick Diaz, as well as Integrated Design Studio Designer Amy Laundre, who rounded out the high-caliber team.

“We met weekly with the doctor and his office manager and wife, Linda Perimenis, to review the floor plans, explore the possibilities, and to redesign and refine the space and equipment until we achieved his ultimate vision,” said Mr. Peterson.

The doctor recalled being able to sit at his conference room table and watch on screen as Ms. Laundre responded to his feedback immediately by moving or removing walls and making other adjustments to his blueprints, in real-time via video conferencing.

“Wow” Factor Was Doctor’s Goal

The doctor’s overall goal for the new office, he says, was to create a “wow” factor. That mission drove every decision, from his choice of A-dec equipment in the operatories to the decision to forego more traditional coffered ceilings for wood paneling instead. The modern office stuns from a patient’s first step inside, greeting them with snow-white wainscoting and crown molding against creamy, sand-colored walls and upholstery. Recessed lighting accompanied by an entire wall of windows keeps the waiting area bright and welcoming. Glass doors and dividers expand sight lines, so the office feels even more spacious.

Entering the clinical area, there are now eight operatories for the father and sons to utilize, with wood laminate flooring and quartz countertops anchoring the high-end look. His existing equipment was 18 years old, so the doctor opted to purchase all-new equipment , and chose A-dec chairs and operatory equipment not only for their sleek sophistication, but also for ergonomics and durability.

“The operatories have rear cabinets with rear assistant delivery and work surfaces, and side cabinets for the doctor and assistants to work most efficiently,” added Mr. Peterson.

Existing Equipment Moved and Updated to Complement the New

As part of the doctor’s move, he leaned on Henry Schein One’s TechCentral to migrate his existing Dentrix database to his new office and a new server as well, explained Mr. Diaz.

“We also coordinated the move of his current Gendex DP 700 and Planmeca PlanScan and PlanMill 40 from the old office to the new office,” added Mr. Peterson, who said the doctor has been a long-time user of CAD/CAM technology. The cone beam unit sits behind a glass wall, and the doctor points to it as his most important piece of technology, particularly for implant dentistry.

“It’s really the standard of care now,” said Dr. Perimenis. “You can just see so much more with it.”

Even before the move, the doctor offered same-day dentistry to patients, but with just four operatories in a small office footprint, it tied up valuable space in the downtime while the restoration was milled. Now, in an office that is double the size of the old, a patient simply remains in the chair, comfortable, until the doctor returns to drop in the finished crown, which usually fits very easily, said Dr. Perimenis. Although he estimates that 99% of his onlays are done in-house, the doctor does use a lab for more complex restorative work. Even so, he and his son use the Planmeca PlanMill 20 times a week, and his cone beam nearly as much!

Another featured area in Perimenis Dental Group's office is the A-dec Inspire sterilization center. Behind a wall of glass, this slick, finely organized workflow is fully transparent for patients to watch, further demonstrating the superior level of care that the doctor insists on in every aspect of dentistry.

“Dr. Perimenis chose this sterilization equipment because every piece of equipment is the best in class for its specific purpose,” noted Mr. Peterson, who admitted that he is most proud of how the sterilization suite turned out. “Since sterilization is the lifeblood of the practice, the doctor didn’t want to compromise there.”

With both parents and children working together at Perimenis Dental Group, it has become a full family affair! With an eye for detail and a commitment to select only the best equipment, Dr. Perimenis has created a practice that will be cutting-edge and highly functional for him, his sons, and most importantly, their patients for years to come. ♦