Father-daughter dental team share same patient-centered values

When Dr. Bill Morse, DDS, opened his first dental practice in St. Augustine in 1960, he and his wife, Nancy, had two daughters, Marcia and Dianne.

As his business grew and expanded, so did his family. The couple went on to have four more children, John, Kenneth, Marilyn and Barry.

Both his oldest daughters also became dentists and since 1989, Morse and Dr. Dianne Morse, DDS, have been St. Augustine's only father-daughter dentist team in town.

Last year, Dianne bought the 54-year-old practice from her father, reversing the roles - at least in the workplace - of who's the boss.

Morse, 80, said "eventually" he supposes he will retire and when he does he will do so with full knowledge that his life's business is in very capable hands.

Dianne joined the family business after graduating from Georgetown University's dental school, but it wasn't actually the first time she worked for dad. As a teenager, she worked in the office as an assistant. At the time she said she found it too restraining, especially when she could be at the beach instead.

When deciding her life's path though, she briefly thought about becoming a pharmacist, but then decided dentistry was where she belonged.

"I'm glad I made this decision. It's good to work with family. You can just tell it like it is," Dianne said.

Sandy Varney, the office manager since 2002, said, "They work superbly together, too. The patients just love them. I really admire this family."

Morse's youngest son, Barry Morse, has owned the in-house dental lab since the mid-80s.

"He makes all the crowns, bridges, veneers, restores implants and things like that," Varney said. "These things are all handmade with an artist's touch. It's a big benefit to the patients to have everything done right here."

Morse Family Dentistry has grown from three chairs in a small downtown location to nine chairs and three dentists, three hygienists, four dental assistants, two front desk people, one insurance coordinator and one office manager. Dr. Seung C. Yang is with the practice part-time.

Over the years, the industry and St. Augustine itself has seen many changes, but Morse's philosophy has stayed the same: Doing what's best for the patient.

"We always wanted and had a patient-centered practice. We stressed what's best for the patient. That is primarily our main value," Morse said.

The early dental days

After graduating from the University of Buffalo School of Dental Medicine in 1958, Morse did his residency in Gainesville. While there he heard about a possibility of buying a practice from Dr. Robert Nichols in St. Augustine. Morse was born in Jamestown, N.Y., so he liked towns with history and this was a good place to raise his young family. He moved to St. Augustine just days before opening his dental office here.

His original building was on the second floor of the Lyon Building, which was then among shops and businesses in what is now the Casa Monica Hotel. He also worked one or two days a week as a dentist for the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.

"We had visited St. Augustine a few times during my residency in Gainesville and really liked it," Morse said. He was in that original location for about 18 months.

His second office was on the fifth floor of the Exchange Bank Building downtown with fellow dentist and friend, Dr. Earl Masters, DDS. Morse practiced there for 13 years.

In 1974, he bought the building on A1A South where he is currently located. Morse Family Dentistry officially opened there in 1975. At the time, the area was so undeveloped some questioned whether this was a good move. But Morse was confident in his decision, and it paid off.

"I moved here because it was a nice size building. We had always been cramped for space before. And there were rumors that the 312 Bridge was going to be built soon, so I knew it would become more developed," Morse said.

"We had gradually grown over the years, but once we were out here, we grew much faster. For one reason, we didn't have the parking problems we had downtown," Morse said.

"St. Augustine was totally different when I moved here. The whole county had about 30,000 people. It's changing and evolving but in a good way," he added.

Keeping up with changes

What has changed in dentistry the most, Morse said, is the acceptance of prevention.

"People are finally taking prevention seriously and that has helped a lot," he said.

Technological changes in the industry, such as implants, digital X-rays units, and restorative-filling materials keep the Morse father-daughter on their toes.

"Dentistry is always changing. We've always made it a priority to keep up with continuing education and the latest technology," Dianne said. "We normally go to two or three major dental conferences a year, and we'll keep doing that," Dianne said.

Varney said she and other longtime employees enjoy working there because the office has a "nice spirit."

"Our patients love our friendly staff. We smile, talk, joke. You can always hear laughter down the halls. But we're also very efficient. We bring an ease to people, and we're very gentle," she said.