Dr.Carter Weber doesn’t just want his dental patients to feel good about theirsmiles when they leave his office; Weber wants them to understand why he didwhat he did to make things better.
“We’rereally big on patient education here at Southernmost Smiles,” said Weber, whoopened his solo dental practice May 1 at 3201 Flagler Ave., where longtime KeyWest dentist Dr. Bill Belobradicih practiced for more than 20 years. “Billretired and I took over the practice. But we kept the whole staff and were fortunateto have inherited Dr. Belobraidich’s patients.”
Dr.Weber chose Key West because his wife, Katelyn Oropeza, is a fifth-generationConch.
“Wemet when we both were undergraduates at Florida State University, and once westarted dating, I came home with Katelyn and fell in love with Key West,” saidWeber who’s originally from Jacksonville. He said he’d always known he wantedto be a dentist, but was torn between that and the military, as his grandfatherand father served in the Marines and the Navy.
“Ialso knew I wanted to serve in the military, but not necessarily as a career,”he said on a recent afternoon between appointments at his new dental office.
Sohe found a way to do both by accepting a scholarship with the U.S. Army Corpsand completing dental school the University of Florida. He then served fouryears as a dentist in the Army before finishing his tour and heading for KeyWest with Katelyn.
“Wehave one of the only 3-D dental X-rays machines on the island,” said Weber, whoalso specializes in permanent implants to replace individual teeth or severalas an alternative to dentures that must be removed and cleaned every night.“People today seem to be opting for a more permanent solution to things.”
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The3-D X-ray allows Weber to create a complete digital treatment plan that hereviews with the patient.
“Thenonce we create that plan, the machine allows me to be 100 percent sure that I’monly touching bone when installing the new implant and no nerves or bloodvessels,” he said.
Butin addition to 3-D X-rays for everyone and permanent implants, Weber also doesfamily and children’s dentistry, Zoom whitening sessions and emergencies on anas-needed basis.
“Wejust had a couple in last week off a cruise ship, and the man was in such pain,they were in desperate need of a dentist when the front desk agent fromMargaritaville Resort called us,” Katelyn Oropeza Weber said. “We told them tocome right in and they showed up in an Uber. The husband ended up needing anextraction, which Carter did right away and was able to send the pair back tothe ship feeling worlds better.”
Healso caters to dental cowards and offers nitrous oxide gas for the reluctantpatient. Southernmost Smiles accepts Met Life, Delta Dental and UnitedConcordia.
Weber’soffice is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday – Friday, with the first movingappointment proving to be popular so folks can get their dental appointmentover first thing, Katelyn said.
Forinformation or to make an appointment online, visit www.southernmostsmiles.com or call 305-294-9999.
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