A dental hot spot emerges in Hadley

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Staff Writer

Published: 07-22-2019 12:07 PM

HADLEY — When Noelle Nubani and Cyrus Safizadeh open their new dental practice next month on Route 9, the couple will begin with just a handful of patients in what appears to be an increasingly competitive market for those who are in the field of caring for teeth.

As the 2,234-square-foot office for Hampshire Meadow Family & Pediatric Dentistry continues to be built in the new 207 Russell St. plaza from which it takes its name, the husband-and-wife team understand that they are coming to a stretch of road that is becoming a hot spot for dentists. In a few months, five practices will be operating on both sides of the busy thoroughfare.

A new The Valley Dentists building has opened at the site of the former Stan’s Drive-In, just a few hundred feet away from Hampshire Meadow Dentistry.

Valley Dentists, which has been around for 30 years, recently moved from a rented shared building to the dedicated 4,500-square-foot building. The practice has 10 laboratories, an increase from the seven in a 3,200-square-foot building.

Dr. Ambreen Bawa and Dr. Sumeet Saxena have said the extra rooms will enable the practice to see more patients, to use better technology, and to have specialists on site, including periodontists and endodontists.

The Valley Dentists and Hampshire Meadow Dentistry will join two existing businesses: Precision Dental Associates in an office building at 190 Russell St., and the long-running River Valley Dental just off Route 9 on East Street. Additionally, a fifth dentist office is planning to set up shop at the Mill Valley Commons plaza.

Although their arrival means lots of options in a short stretch of the state road — with additional dentist offices such as Aspen Dental and Linda Robinson Dental situated closer to the malls — Safizadeh and Nubani don’t view other dentists as competition. Instead, they see good demographics and the ability to offer a specialty in pediatric dentistry.

“The services we can provide can be more comprehensive to family need and a lot more,” Nuibani said. “I love the fact that this is a family office where a mom can have her teeth done at the same time as her child. We’re geared toward the convenience of the family.”

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The process of getting their office up and running was straightforward. With an OK from the Planning Board and then Building Commissioner Timothy Neyhart, the couple hired Sweitzer Construction of Monson, a company that focuses on medical offices.

The concrete floors had to be removed to bring in the pipes containing water, nitrous gas, oxygen and compressed air, which are delivered to each of three “op” rooms where the dentists will work.

“Nothing is more complicated than building a dental office,” Nubani said, noting the challenges of both the extensive plumbing and various medical regulations. “You’re building every laboratory as a surgical suite.”

Besides the nitrous sedation for patients, the three private rooms are equipped with X-ray machines and the dentists can do small surgical procedures and tooth extractions on site.

Another room, with four additional dental chairs, will be used for preventive dentistry, with a special attention to applying fluoride varnish and SDF, or silver diamine fluoride, as well as one-day orthodontics.

Because Nubani and Safizadeh are building a practice from scratch, unlike Valley Dentists, which has an established 3,500 patients, Hampshire Meadow Dentistry will start with just the two dentists and two other employees, one of whom can serve as a hygienist. They’ll rely on word of mouth and the thousands of vehicles that pass by the site every day to boost the practice’s client base.

Nubani has been practicing in Manchester, Connecticut and will bring a few of her clients, while Safizadeh’s residency as a pediatric dental specialist at Columbia University/New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan recently ended.

Safizadeh said he is hoping to build a long-term commitment with his patients. “Hopefully I won’t have to say good-bye to patients again,” he said.

“Part of it is we wanted to be in this area,” said Safizadeh, who graduated from UMass and would have gone there for dental school if it had a dental program. Instead, he got his doctor of dental medicine at the University of Connecticut.

If visibility drives awareness, the Route 9 corridor should help the new practice, as well as being credentialed with MassHealth. “On an ethical level, we feel all children should have the same access to care,” Nubani said.

Safizadeh said he is also trying to work with special needs children, in particular those who may not be able to be seen by conventional dentists. In addition to pediatric care, Safidzadeh said he hopes to be a resource for predental college students.

“We want to be here for a long time and to raise a family here,” Nubani said.

“For me, I couldn’t be more excited to be back here,” Safizadeh said.

Safizadeh said it can be frightening to embark on this project, but he notes that he and Nubani have a level of motivation to provide the best service possible, and see the enterprise as almost a second marriage.

“Ultimately there’s room for everybody,” Nubani said. “It is competitive, but it should drive you to perform awesome dentistry.”

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.]]>