An interview with Dr. Michael Strand of Broken Arrow Endodontics, OK
Top left: The Sterilization Center, at the heart of the Broken Arrow practice, continues the Santa Fe inspiration. Top right: Warm woods and comfortable accommodations continue through the offices. Bottom: Left to right: Paige Murphy, Paige Burke, Debbie Gann, Andrea Price, Dr. Ryan Gibson, Dr. Michael Strand, Dr. David Woodard, Corbin Bliss, Eve Strand, Brooke Wroten, and Katy Ashcraft.
Situated on the Muskogee and Creek Turnpikes and State Highway 51, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, lies fifteen miles east of Tulsa in Tulsa County. The city resulted from the construction of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway in 1902. It’s named after Broken Arrow Creek, which flows through the area into the Arkansas River.
Dr. Michael Strand opened Broken Arrow Endodontics in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, in 2007. By February 2020, he added two endodontists and seven staff and moved into a new office right next door to the original.
“The Land of Enchantment,” as New Mexico refers to itself is captured in this oversized mural bringing patients right into the great outdoors.
Dr. Strand grew up in a small town in Southwest New Mexico. “My rich New Mexico history is always tugging at my heart,” he says. So his new office has a Santa Fe feel inspired by his New Mexico roots. (The Santa Fe style focuses on colors and textures for maximum impact with earth tones and occasional pops of clay red, turquoise blue, and green.)
Left: Tile work reminiscent of Santa Fe, shown here on the stairs in worn blues with red and grey accents, compliments wrought iron details, like the railings to the second floor, throughout the office. Right: From the clay-colored walls to the animal skull lamp on the desk, no detail too small, even the Carestream CS 8100 is encompassed by the Santa Fe feel.
In designing their new 10,400 SF office with eight operatories, Dr. Strand says that having adequate space has greatly increased his practice’s capability to care for patients – while easily adhering to social distancing.
A Burkhart team including Account Manager Brett Miller, Equipment Specialist Brandon Saas, and Service Technician Mike Salerno were there from the beginning, helping to turn Dr. Strand’s dream of a new office into a reality. Dr. Strand shares his experience in the following Q&A.
Q. Can you tell me a little about your background?
A. My undergraduate degree was from New Mexico State University. I received my Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2003. After practicing as a general dentist in Albuquerque for a couple years, I started my Endodontic Residency at the University of Nebraska.
Those touches continue in the arched doorways and windows, through the natural wood elements incorporated with the warm natural stone, and in the hanging peppers reminiscent of a market.
Q. What led you to dentistry?
A. Growing up, we had a family friend who was a dentist. Sitting in his chair while he and his assistant were doing a filling on me was the most interesting thing I could remember. They were working right under my nose, and I could not see what was happening. That first intrigued my interest, and it grew from there.
Q. What year did you start practicing dentistry?
A. I practiced for two years in Albuquerque, NM, as a general dentist in 2003 and in 2007
as an endodontist.
Touches of Santa Fe can be seen throughout the practice, like this niche.
Q. Can you tell me a bit about your practice?
A. I started the practice on my own and saw my first patient on July 23, 2007. I built the office with the potential for four operatories with only two equipped. Within three years, we finished a third operatory and added an associate. Two years later, we finished the fourth. It soon became obvious we needed more space. After numerous construction delays, in February 2020, we finally moved into a new office which is right next door to the original.
Q. Are there other endodontists in your practice?
A. Yes, two – Dr. David Woodard and Dr. Ryan Gibson.
Q. Can you give me details about your new office design?
A. The new office has a Santa Fe feel, inspired by my New Mexico roots. It currently has eight working operatories.
Q. What was your motivation for your new office design?
A. As much as I love living in Tulsa and could not have picked a better place to raise a family, my rich New Mexico history is always tugging at my heart. There is something soothing about the southwest theme that can bring a calming effect, which is important in our profession.
Q. Can you tell me about the key players working with you at Burkhart on building the new office and how they helped you in the process?
A. Burkhart’s Director of Equipment & Technology Phillip Salerno has been present from the early design to the final touches. His brother, Service Technician Mike Salerno, has always picked up the pieces and found a way to make things work.
Left: Curved arches and warmly lit wood carry through the hallways as patients make their way to the operatory rooms. Right: Each operatory is complete with individual heating/cooling vents which run through the ventilation system. The paint colors seen throughout the practice are echoed in the operatories – clay on the ceilings, warm buttery yellow on the top part of the walls, and terra cotta below the wooden char rails.
Q. Can you tell me about the equipment selection process?
A. Burkhart’s team gave me great hands-on experience in designing both my current office and the original. I am a very visual person and being able to see a 3D rendering of layout and custom cabinets before ordering really helped ease any fears.
Q. What dental equipment has changed or improved the way you work clinically?
A. Four operatories were completely new, with the other four being partially new and partially brought over from the old office. They include seven new Global Microscopes.
Q. How has the addition of operatories impacted workflow, appointment scheduling, and production?
A. Having adequate space has greatly increased our capability to care for patients. Social distancing has not been a problem. We can easily place a person in extreme pain in a chair and provide relief as soon as possible.
Warm woods and comfortable accommodations continue through the offices.
Q. What has the new office design meant to the success of your practice?
A. Each operatory has floor-to-ceiling glass doors with individual heating/cooling vents that go through an air filtration system. I believe only one other office in Oklahoma has that capability.
Q. What advice would you give to a doctor who is considering building a new office or redesigning an existing one?
A. Burkhart has done this twice for me. When we expand to another office in the near future, we would not consider anyone else. With all their team’s experience, they think of the small things you don’t.
Realize your dream office potential and talk to your Burkhart Account Manager today. Learn more about Burkhart’s Office Planning & Design capabilities.
Written by Denise Ploof
Photo by Sarah J. Barnett
Published in Catalyst – Spring/Summer 2021.
Category: Office Planning & Design
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