Dr. Chris Baker

 

R.N., Houston, Texas, 1969   D.M.D., Univ of Kentucky, 1979   Pediatric dentistry specialty, Univ. of Connecticut, 1985   Orthodontic fellowship, Univ. of Connecticut, 1986 Before dental school, as a registered nurse, Dr. Chris was fortunate to have been involved in the American Heart Association’s early development of CPR training. After moving to Lexington to go to UK’s dental school, she worked with Dr. Bennett McWhorter and others to develop the Heart Association CPR training in Kentucky.

The CPR training manual Dr. Chris wrote for Kentucky Heart Association in l979 has been updated several times and used nationally as the American Heart Association manual ever since. The thousands of Kentucky people Dr. Chris trained in CPR continue to train many thousands more. In l980 with both her nursing background, and Doctorate in Dental Medicine, she was asked to accept a faculty appointment at UK College of Dentistry, to lead Special Patient Care training for dental students and residents. This part of their education helped Kentucky’s future dentists be better able to treat patients with special management needs, such as physically, mentally and emotionally handicapped patients. While in pediatric dentistry training at University of Connecticut, then during her tenure as a full-time faculty member there, Dr. Chris studied and worked closely with the research scientists studying the disease of caries (decay). These professors are some of the world’s experts in the fields of cariology and fluorides. The strong preventive nature of our practice utilizes current cutting-edge science and technology to help the parents and patients prevent dental diseases. Ten years of nursing experience helped create extraordinary insights for Dr. Chris as to the significance of interpersonal relations and support in potentially stressful healthcare situations. Since l985, as a specialist in pediatric dentistry, she has concentrated on the pioneering and teaching of emotional support of the child patient and his/her parents. This places Dr. Chris in a unique position, having the child’s family/parent(s) present during all visits. Her years of ICU, CCU, and ER nursing also gave her an unusually good understanding of the use and hazards of sedation and general anesthesia, and further stimulated her to develop safe, high quality treatment procedures without the use of systemic drugs. Dr. Baker has developed a unique approach to the treatment of the pediatric dental patient. It is the safest, with none of the risks of sedation or general anesthesia. It is the most emotionally reassuring treatment in use today. Because the parent is always with the child, no feeling of abandonment is present. Many lives have been improved by Dr. Chris’s compassion and strength in relationship development. Her extensive knowledge of child behavior, parenting and child management are elements which became integrated into her teaching while she was on faculty at the University of Connecticut, and as a result, the dentists who trained in their specialty with Dr. Baker are successfully using her methods. In the US today, there are only a small number of specialists in pediatric dentistry offering drug-free, supportive, parents-always-present approach to dental treatment of the child patient. After years spent practicing with and learning from Dr. Doyle, Dr. Chris has grown sure that the excellence she seeks in dentistry can only be realized when prevention is the basis for every decision made. Her practice philosophy is one of health and prevention with emphasis on orthodontic treatment for the pre-school and school-age child which improves the growth of the entire craniofacial system and prevents orthopedic and orthodontic problems. Dr. Chris's goal for each child patient is to begin a lifetime of dental health without need for a lifetime of dental restorative care.

Our entire staff is made up of exceptional people, but first and foremost there is Tack. For those of you who know Tack, and probably most of you do, you know he is a particularly special person. Roy Allen "Tack" Mayfield has been a part of our practice since January 1, l963, when he joined Dr. Doyle. He is senior dental assistant and keeps us all happy! We’ve all called him Tack for so long we forget to wonder where he got his nickname. We hear him tell patients they are " sharp as a nail", because, as Tack explains, "no one is sharp as Tack." Well - here’s where it all started- In elementary school, Roy was dubbed "Tack because then, as now, he dressed "sharp as a tack. Tack was born and raised in Lexington, and graduated from Dunbar High School (the first one) and was known for his track ability. He ran the l00 yd. dash in 9.9 seconds!

He has three grown children, three grandchildren, and his youngest son, Brandon, is an excellent student and a gifted athlete at Princeton University. Children all ask for him; there’s never been a patient here for any period of time who left without loving Tack. His social skills are outweighed only by his huge heart; he enriches the life of every person who comes into contact with him. We are all blessed to be part of Tack’s family.

 

Dr. Walter Doyle’s Legacy

 

Dr. Walter Doyle who practiced pediatric dentistry & orthodontics in Lexington for 35 years, died on February 13,1999. Since his first year in practice, Dr. Doyle was an innovator and leader, and created better treatment procedures for people throughout the world. One of his basic concerns was always the significance of self-image to children as they grow and develop. This concern led to many innovations and inventions which have contributed to the welfare of millions of people.

The extremely stained teeth of a little girl from Stanford, Kentucky stimulated Dr. Doyle to develop bonding, or the coating of teeth with plastic which is held on with acid etching, a procedure which he also pioneered. Now millions and millions of teeth have been  bonded, and many bonding procedures have been performed to help people throughout the world. His concern for self-image extended to influencing growth of the face at very early ages, so that a child will grow up looking attractive. This concern caused him to seek his second specialty in orthodontics, and to become the first person in the world to have taken and passed specialty board exams in both pediatric dentistry and orthodontics. He used this knowledge to develop pioneering approaches to treatment of poor growth patterns in children at very early ages, before the poor growth affects the child socially or functionally. Many dentists throughout the world have studied under Dr. Doyle, to learn how to treat young children. Hundreds of these doctors have spent from one to six years in formal classes, and others are in continuing classes now. Dr. Doyle’s gift as an educator and innovator reaches to children throughout the U.S., and internationally, through his students.

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