Congratulations are in order for Dr. Sonya Thomas-Webb of Webb Family Dentistry in Chesapeake, as she prepares to celebrate 25 years of her practice providing the Chesapeake community with outstanding personalized care and service.  "We celebrate our anniversary in August," she smiles.  "I am thrilled that we have become so well-established and have served the community from this one location for all these years." 

And well-established she is.  With her years of experience also comes years of service to her community in various capacities.  Not only is Dr. Webb currently on the dental education advisory boards for Thomas Nelson Community College and the Medical Careers Institute, but for many years, she has also volunteered her dental services to the the Chesapeake Care Clinic. 
Now, as the practice enters its milestone anniversary, the expertise that it offers the community has expanded with the addition of Webb Family Dentistry's new part-time pediatric dentist, Dr. J. B. Martin. "Although we've always treated pediatric patients, we're excited to be able to now offer specialized pediatric dental services to our families," Dr. Webb enthuses. "I've been wanting to do this for years, and now seems like the perfect time to begin."

"We have a lot of experience to offer at our practice," Dr. Martin adds. "Together, Dr. Webb and I have 60 years of combined experience practicing dentistry, so our patients can feel perfectly confident that they are getting the highest quality care when they come to our office."

Born in "Motor City" (Detroit) and raised in the "Windy City" (Chicago), Dr. Martin seemed destined for a career in a medicine. Coming from a long line of medical professionals, he always knew he wanted to enter the profession.  He eventually chose dentistry as his field of study and sought a university on the east coast.  He graduated from Howard University in 1986 with his Doctorate of Dental Surgery, and his certificate of Pediatric Dentistry in 1989. 

In fact, it was at Howard University that Dr. Martin and Dr. Webb were destined to meet.  "Our friendship goes way back," he states, smiling. "We were actually classmates in the dental program at Howard."  Like so many other transplants to Hampton Roads, Dr. Martin fell in love with the area after frequent vacations here.  When looking for a new home, he knew exactly where he wanted to go.  "I was looking for a place to set up my practice after leaving Howard," he explains.  "I had often come down to the beach for vacation while in school and decided I wanted to call this area home. So, I moved to Hampton Roads in 1990."

Five years later, in 1989, Dr. Webb also chose to make Hampton Roads her home when she moved to Chesapeake. In 1995, she opened her practice. Over the years, the former classmates had remained friends and stayed in contact.    "We both belong to the same professional societies and have been colleagues at local meetings for many years," Dr. Martin states. One year ago, he joined Dr. Webb's practice, and the former classmates became professional colleagues.

During their time at Howard, Dr. Webb noted Dr. Martin's splendid rapport with and connection to children.  "I noticed very early on that he had a great affinity for children," Dr. Webb exudes, smiling.  "He has always been very good with them.  That's why I brought him on at my first opportunity.  I knew my pediatric patients would be in excellent hands with him!" 

Indeed, Dr. Martin takes special care with each and every patient to ensure not only their good oral health but also their comfort when visiting the office.  Never rushing any appointment, he takes his time with every child and strives to make each feel special and at ease.  "I enjoy having the opportunity to take my time with my patients.  Our time is the most important thing we can give," Dr. Martin stresses.  "We take our time with all of our patients here so that we can get to know them and educate them about treatment and prevention.  It's about building relationships."

In addition to being a highly experienced pediatric dentist, Dr. Martin provides an extra bonus to parents of special needs children. "I have considerable experience with special needs patients, especially the understanding of their various special concerns," he states compassionately. "It goes back to my training at Howard. My education left me well-prepared for accommodating the needs of my special needs patients. It also provided me with the experience to know when we should hold off on performing certain procedures should the situation call for it."

Having an exceptional understanding for all children, Dr. Martin also has a unique talent for handling especially fearful children. "I get a lot of referrals from other pediatric dentists who would have to place the child under general anesthesia for treatment- something with which some parents are uncomfortable."

As a result, fearful patients are sometimes sent to the OR to be put under sedation during treatments.  But for Dr. Martin, general anesthesia is an absolute last resort.  "I do everything I can in order to avoid the necessity of general anesthesia," he says. "I try to work with my patients and their parents. I also allow the parents to come back into the treatment area. Many pediatric practices don't allow that.  We may eventually add conscious sedation for extremely fearful patients, but they are awake and cognizant; they're not under general anesthesia, which can be risky.

"You have to understand where the fear and behavior come from," Dr. Martin continues. "That requires spending time with the children and their parents.  I have new patients meet with me before any treatments. This allows the children to see the office and better understand what we do here. In turn, that helps eliminate the fear of the unknown. It also allows us to get to know each other so that we can establish a more comfortable relationship before any treatments or procedures are performed. I feel it helps to put both the children and parents at ease."

Dr. Martin is a conservative pediatric dentist , and if he feels that a young patient's fear or behavior might negatively impact the procedure or situation, he'll wait. "I'm not going to force the issue.  I don't have a problem postponing a procedure if that's necessary.  Not forcing the procedure helps to establish trust with the child and mitigate the fear of the dentist," he states matter-of-factly.

This is the very core of Dr. Martin's philosophy with his patients- working hard to establish trust and long-term relationships with them and their families so that he can treat them until their early adult years. And he's very successful in doing just that. "With some of my patients, I'm now treating the second and third generation of their families," he says with a smile. "I earned their trust when they were young, and then they brought in their children who are now bringing in their children. It's very satisfying knowing the positive impact I've had in their lives."

That is, in fact, a common goal that both Dr. Webb and Dr. Martin share: establishing lifelong relationships with patients of all ages.  "My practice and Dr. Martin's have always been focused on spending time with patients, getting to know them, and giving them the proper attention that they need to maintain good oral health for life," Dr. Webb states passionately. 

Dr. Webb wants Webb Family Dentistry to fully embody the phrase.  "I want the entire family to be able to come to this one practice to achieve good oral health- mothers, fathers, children, siblings," she says. "I want to be a convenient dental practice where all family members can come to get the care they need.  That's why adding specialized pediatric care is so important to me.  I want my patients to have a safe and comfortable place where they can take their children- an established place they can come for the rest of their lives."

"That's right," Dr. Martin nods in agreement.  "In fact, one of our goals at this practice is to transition patients from seeing me when they are children to seeing Dr. Webb for their adult dental needs once they reach age 21. With that kind of easy transition, they'll never have to search for another provider or go someplace unfamiliar.  The relationship with them that we've nurtured over the years, along with the personalized care that they've come to expect from us, will simply continue."

The personalized care that Webb Family Dentistry provides runs the full gamut of dental services.  Aside from the pediatric practice and regular dental screenings, Dr. Webb offers cosmetic and restorative dentistry, veneers, implant restorations, periodontal therapy, root canals, and Invisalign Aligners, to name but a few.

These many services, however, are not the primary focus of the practice. "Our focus here is people," Dr. Webb states unwaveringly.  "We take the time needed to give the personalized attention that patients honestly want from their dentist.  We are a patient-driven practice, not a production-driven practice."

The dedication to the patients does not stop with Drs. Webb and Martin.  Dr. Webb ensures that every member of their team, from the receptionist to clinical staff, is kind, courteous, and people-oriented.  "I'm a people person and so is every member of my staff," Dr. Webb smiles.  "We make it our policy to always be warm and courteous.  So many people compliment us on how friendly and professional the staff is here.  This practice wouldn't be successful without them."

It's that excellent service and personalized care- treating patients like family- that wins over Dr. Webb's loyal patients. Both doctors and their staff are now taking extra care to execute the many safeguards available to protect their patients from COVID-19.  "We are carefully following the CDC, American Dental Association, and Virginia Department of Health guideline to protect our patients and staff and keep them healthy," Dr. Webb stresses.  "I have also increased the size of our clinical staff, and we're scheduling our patients farther apart to make sure we have adequate time to thoroughly sanitize each chair and station between patients."

Dr. Sonya Thomas-Webb has reached a milestone in her career: 25 years of serving the community by giving her patients one-on-one personalized care.  It's not at all surprising that her legacy of service will continue with the addition of pediatric dental specialist, Dr. J. B. Martin. Together, this team of dentists, backed by their dedicated staff, will continue to expand Dr. Webb's vision for Webb Family Dentistry practice. With their commitment to the highest quality, individualized patient care, there's no doubt they will succeed.