All smiles

Oaks Dental Designs succeeding in rural setting

Story by LISA SAVAGE Photography by MARK GILLILAND

Jill Swafford loved the dentistry field from the first time she worked in a dental office in high school. But the Pikeville woman never dreamed she could one day do dentistry-related work from home.

Now, her love for dentistry and helping others provides the perfect basis for her business, Oaks Dental Designs, a digital dental lab she established last year at her home in rural Bledsoe County. “I started out filing charts at our local dentist office after school and never left,” she says. “Once in the field, I loved caring for people and helping give people confidence. I loved that aspect of it.”

After high school, she became certified as a dental assistant and worked in that capacity for five years before going into the office and financial management aspect of dentistry. She didn’t make crowns or other dental designs, but she learned the process of getting a patient’s crown to fit just right while working with dental labs. As she and others in the office tried to figure out why crowns didn’t always fit correctly, she started researching the manufacturing process. “I discovered the art of making crowns has been completely revolutionized,” she says.

With much more research, training and the support of her family and her husband, Aaron Swafford, Oaks Dental Designs opened in February 2018.

Digital impressions, which don’t require the patient’s mouth to be filled with gooey material to get the shape of the tooth, make up about 60% of her work. A digital scan taken at the dentist office provides an accurate image, and those images are emailed to Swafford, who has high-speed internet through BTC Fiber, to greatly speed up the production process.

Jill Swafford uses state-of-the-art equipment that produces crowns quickly and accurately.

The remaining 40% of the work at Oaks Dental Designs starts from traditional impressions. Once Swafford receives the impression, she can make a 3D scan, and the digital impression from the scan makes for a more precise fit when she mills the crown.

“It’s incredibly accurate, and it reduces human error,” Swafford says.

“Being able to provide a great-quality product matters to me.” It’s also faster, she says, and in many cases, she gets a digital scan for the crown and can have it shipped back within a couple of days.

Swafford believes customer service plays an important role in her success. “I make sure all of my clients have my cellphone number and can call me with questions anytime,” she says.

She works with local dentists, but her business is growing, and much of her work comes from dentists from across the country. With the growth, she expanded the business earlier this year, purchasing more equipment, adding more workspace at her property and hiring additional employees.

Working from home allows for flexibility in caring for her children and keeps her from having to commute. “I’m in a rural area, and there is no way I could do this from home without the great internet from BTC Fiber,” she says. 