Orthotown October 2022 - 42

Offi ce Visit
Before
After
Dr. Susan Blair shares one of her favorite patient cases
I tend to form strong bonds with patients who are
referred to me because of their special needs or complex
craniofacial issues, which require my unique training and
skills, so it's nearly impossible to choose just one favorite
case, but Grace is a great example for a few reasons.
Grace and I connected immediately. Despite being nearly
nonverbal and having hearing defi cits, she has outstanding
energy and humor and is actually a great communicator; she
just uses her very expressive nonverbal charm to get her
thoughts (and, often, zingers of jokes!) across. I love sharing
her story because it shows how I work closely with my team
to deliver the needed treatment I was honored to provide.
Grace has a high-tech mobile wheelchair we can treat
her from. With the help of a clinical technician, we quickly got
into a routine that allowed us to treat her to the best possible
outcome without many compromises. It was challenging for
us to work in nontraditional positions, with lots of physical
limitations for operator and patient, and we had to develop
unique solutions to manage her care. But we got it done as a
team, and had a blast with Grace the entire time.
We never focused on the limitations of treating her case,
just the things we could control to improve her smile and
bite. This yielded a result we're all proud of-and, moreover, a
friendship I'm proud to share with Grace!
You just celebrated four years
as practice owners. What does
a " typical day " in the office
look like nowadays?
NR: We are a husband-and-wife superduo!
Susan works at and runs her own pediatric
practice basically full time, but also makes
time to put on her orthodontist cap with me
one day per week at our ortho offi ce. That
day is jam-packed with the most complex
cases, which have been sent our way from
far and wide for her expertise.
I see patients here every day, and somehow
manage to squeeze in time to run the
practice as the manager, CEO, marketing
director and board member. It's an incredible
amount of work and responsibility, but
each day is full of learning and growth,
which I love.
42 OCTOBER 2022 // orthotown.com
It takes a great amount of help and
support from our amazing team to accomplish
all that we do. We share a vision and
trust that has been developed over the
past four years, which is how I'm able to
treat patients to the highest of standards
clinically while offering an exceptional
customer experience and fostering the
growth of our practice with cool marketing
and advertising projects.
SB: I spend a lot of time juggling running
my pedo offi ce, doing OR sedation cases
out of the hospital in our town, and seeing
ortho patients with Nick at our offi ce. We
often get sent patients as young as 4 or 5,
because referring colleagues know I'm the
only one around who can do that. I love my
day at Hinsdale Ortho-it's really special
to feel like a superhero!
What's the hardest part about
running two locations?
SB: Maintaining balance with two
practices and a personal life. After all, we
are also parents of an amazing 4-year-old
boy named Massimo, who demands a lot
of our attention and energy.
Making sure everything is running
smoothly at home and in two small businesses-each
with its own cast of characters
and issues that arise-is by far the most
challenging part of being an owner, but it's
so worth the effort.
What are you most excited about
from the clinical perspective?
NR: For me, it's smile design. Five key
features make the most ideal Hinsdale
Ortho smile: ideal gum height and shape;
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Orthotown October 2022

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