Our Mission is to provide professional and compassionate care that is safe, valued and accessible.
In 1998, Richard Panek, DDS, FACD, came to Grand Rapids to join Norm Palm, DDS, at the then iconic Palm and Panek Oral Surgery. Through his 24 years of practice, Rich’s career has been filled not only with excellent patient care but also with service, both to the dental community and to West Michigan as […]
When the Center for Oral Surgery and Dental Implants set about renovating its business office a few years ago, it had a piece of good luck. It was able to retain an interior designer who knew just how its oral surgeons worked because she—Julie B. Billups, DDS—was one of them. She was retiring from the […]
According to the International Association of Dental Traumatology (IADT), one-third of all adults have experienced trauma to the permanent dentition. That means dental trauma is something all dentists should be able to approach with confidence, whether in a given case that means treating it fully oneself, or working in collaboration with an endodontist, an oral […]
Coronectomy, the decoronation of the wisdom tooth leaving the roots in place, is often a viable alternative to full extraction that lessens or eliminates the danger of damage to the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN). The procedure takes 30 to 40 minutes, and after the crown is taken out, the root surface is smoothed down and […]
When a dentist refers a patient to an oral surgeon, it’s a collaboration in which each can learn much from the other, especially when it comes to anesthesia. The dentist knows his or her patient’s dental history, habits and any special risks; such knowledge can guide the oral surgeon’s decisions. The oral surgeon’s training, experience, […]
For a dentist—especially one who owns his or her practice—planning to retire is a very emotional thing. But if you trust gut instincts, you’re liable to screw it up. Often, you must go against the grain of your inclinations for the big decisions involved in selling a practice and retiring, says Novi, Michigan-based transition specialist […]
It can be hard when you’re different, especially for a teenager. And Mia McNinch of Rockford knew she was different in one key way: Her teeth were smaller than most people’s, and translucent instead of white. “When I got my braces off in middle school,” she recalls, “people still thought I had them on, because […]
In the kitchen, the toaster gives off sparks and begins to smoke. What’s your first move? “It isn’t to call the fire department,” says Emily Van Heukelom, DDS, of the Center for Oral Surgery and Dental Implants (COSDI). “You unplug the toaster, turn on the vent fan and open a window. And you turn off […]
We want to offer a huge congratulations to Dr. Rosie Noordhoek on being inducted into the American College of Surgeons (ACS)! She will be the first female oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Michigan to be accepted by the ACS. The American College of Surgeons was established in 1913 to “Improve the quality of care for […]
Over-prescription of opioids after dental and other types of surgery fueled the opioid epidemic in the United States, leading to 49,860 overdose deaths in 2019 alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In dentistry, nearly 1 in 3 opioids (29.6%) were prescribed for pain that was expected to be mild and 29.3% […]