Meet Dolorine Vela

You can't spend time at St. Clair's without meeting Dolorine Vela.  She has worked as an Orthodontic Assistant for St. Clair's for almost 10 years.  Our practice would not be the same without her.

Dolorine grew up in Clovis, where she attended Clovis High School and Clovis Community College.  She was trained to be an Orthodontic Assistant and then came to work for St. Clair's.

When we asked her what she most loves about her job, Dolorine's immediate answer was the patients.  She loves the opportunity to spend time with you all and getting to know you better.  Being able to invest in your lives means more to her than anything.

When she's not at work, she enjoys being able to spend time with her friends and family.  One of their favorite things to do together is share a meal as family, and it's even better if it's Mexican food (which is Dolorine's favorite).

The next time you're in the office, be sure and tell Dolorine hi.  It would make her day!

Before and After: Jamy Parker

When Jamy Parker came to us, she had gone through orthodontic treatment before.  However, her teeth had started to shift back to their previous position, and one of her front teeth was beginning to protrude.  

The result was that Jamy wasn't super confident in her smile.  She hesitated to smile too big because she didn't want people to notice her crooked front tooth.  So, she came to St. Clair Orthodontics for a consultation.

Because she previously had orthodontic treatment, Jamy was able to use Invisalign.  Her treatment time took less than a year, and the results were well worth every single minute.

She says, "I'm so happy to have my smile back! Invisalign was an easy and quick fix to my protruding front tooth.  I am no longer self-conscious and can smile a big smile."

Jamy's story is very similar to many of our patients who have gone through the Invisalign treatment process.  Most of these patients have had braces in the past, and so their estimated treatment time is less than a year (this will vary based on each case, but the time span is usually shorter than traditional braces.  Come see us for a consultation to find out how long your treatment would be!).

We loved the chance to be a part of Jamy's smile transformation.  She was such a great patient to work with, and we're so thankful for her kind words about our office and staff:

"Everyone at St. Clair was awesome, and your love for Christ shows in your service toward your patients.  Thanks, Dr. Massey, for making me smile again!"

Do you want a smile story like Jamy's?  Come talk to us today to hear how you can have a smile you're proud to show!

Meet Cheri Hurley!

It's very likely that you've seen Cheri Hurley as you've come to our office for an appointment.  We hope you've had the chance to tell her hi, and talk to her for a bit.  But, if not, we'd love to take a second and introduce her to you.

Before coming to St. Clair's, Cheri grew up right here in the Lubbock area, on a farm by Shallowater.  She went to Trinity High School and then attended Midland College, where she received a degree in General Studies, and Texas Tech, where she received a degree in Human Development and Family Studies.  

Cheri has been one of our orthodontist assistants for a year and a half.  Her favorite thing about working with our office is the opportunity to meet so may people, as well as getting to work with so many different patients and cases.

When she's not at work getting to be around so many of you, Cheri loves being active.  She enjoys playing basketball, working out, doing water sports, and spending time with her friends.  If she gets to pick where she and her friends are going to eat, she said the answer is a no brainer:  Italian always wins.  Given the choice of where she would spend her time, she would choose the beach any day. (And with our cooler temperatures lately, who could blame her!)

Since she is so active, it just makes sense that one of the people she would most love to meet is Coach K (boys' head basketball Mike Krzyzewski from Duke University).  She sees him as a very influential person for our generation.  Not only has he been incredibly successful in his career at Duke, he is always very intentional in the lives of his players as athletes and as people.  

Now that you know a little more about Cheri, you should give her a big hello the next time you're in the office.  And if you happen to be a Duke fan, feel free to yell out "Go Blue Devils!" the next time you see her (chances are she'll yell right along with you!).

Before and After: Lori Carver

Lori Carver is perfect proof you're never too old for braces.  And one look at her beautiful smile goes on to show that your smile can become even more beautiful with age.

When Lori first came to our office, she had some problems with her smile:  because of some issues with spacing and alignment, her teeth had become overcrowded.  Some were pushed forward while others were forced backward.  The overcrowding had also caused her to have some spaces in places that they didn't belong.

Fast forward to the end of her treatment.  Her teeth are lined up almost perfectly, and the random spaces are gone.  Because her teeth are correctly aligned now, it also changes the way her individual teeth look.  When they were not in line, some of them stuck out and were more noticeable when they should be.

Now, though, the only thing you notice is her beautiful smile.  And we think it couldn't be more perfect.

When asked what Lori thought about her treatment, and whether or not she would recommend braces, here is what she said:

"I was much older than most when I got braces. I was a little hesitant about
getting them but the staff was so supportive and informative about the
process. They made me feel better about getting them. The treatment time
went by so fast and it was a fun day when they came off  because of the
removal celebration they do for each patient.  I would recommend braces for
anyone at any age."

We would love to help give you the perfect smile you've always wanted!  Come see us today!

Meet Becky Moore!

Our featured staff member for the month of September is Bekcy Moore.  Becky has worked in our office for 18 years.  She worked here for six years, and then took a break to be  at home with her kids while they were still little.  She came back to work with us in 2000 this summer marked her 12th year with us.

Becky is our Lab Technician.  Her job is to make almost all of the appliances our office uses:  clear retainers, whitening trays, Damon and TMJ splints, space maintainers, expansion appliances, and many more.  Not only does Becky love getting to work with her hands, she loves the people she gets to work with at our office, and she loves our patients even more.  She says that one of her favorite things about her job is getting to help transform the smiles and the lives of our patients.

Becky grew up in Clovis, NM and graduated from Clovis High School.  She loves spending time with her family:  her husband Barry and their three children, Erin, Emily, and Nathan.  They are very active in their church (trinity Church) and really enjoy working with college students.  They try to encourage them to love God and to commit their ways into His plan for their lives.

When she's not spending time with family, working, or volunteering with her church, Becky spends her time cooking, gardening, and traveling.  .  Her favorite vacation spot has been the Oregon Coast.  She says that the Pacific Northwest is absolutely beautiful  with so many interesting places to enjoy and see.

If Becky could meet any celebrity, she would choose Laura Bush.  She thinks the former First Lady was a great role model, and Becky admires the way she was an advoate for literacy and children's education, as well as the way she carried herself during the time her husband was President.  

We hope you enjoyed getting to know more about Becky.  The next time you're in the office, be sure to tell her hi!

Before and After: Sergio

We love getting to share any and all of our patients' smile transformations.  It's so incredible for us to get to be a part of your lives in such a way.  But, it's really special for us to get be a part of this transformation for adults.  Sometimes adults think that they are too old for braces, or that they're too far past being able to change their smiles in such a way.

Sergio is visible proof that this is not even close to truth.  

Take a look at his smile before.  He's a good looking guy with a good smile, but looking close you can see a few things that he wanted to change.  There is a small gap between the front two teeth, and some issues in spacing and overcrowding.  

After a year of treatment at St. Clair's, Sergio was able to have the smile he wanted.  We love getting to see how great it looks on him now.  Take a closer look to see the changes:  the small gap between his front two teeth is gone, and the spacing issues have been corrected.  You can also tell a difference in his jaw line:  it's more defined and slightly more prominent than before.

Sergio's smile not only transformed his face, it also affected him in other ways:  he says that, "My new smile has given me more energy and confidence!  Everybody I run into now tells me what a great smile I have and how they wish their teeth looked as good as mine.  That's when I tell them that St. Clair Orthodontics works magic!"

We don't know that we're exactly magicians, but we do love getting to be a part of giving patients the smile they've always wanted.  We loved getting the chance to work with Sergio, and we would love to do the exact same thing for you!  

Meet Paula

At St. Clair Orthodontics, our specialty is bringing smiles to our patients' faces.  Most of the time, this work solely involves orthodontic treatment.  But sometimes our patients come with needs beyond their teeth.  That's where Paula Black comes in.

Paula is our Chaplain and Patient Relation Coordinator.  She has been with St. Clair's for five years, and her work with us has involved building relationships with any of our patients that might be hurting and need prayer, compassion, and concern.

When she's not caring for patients in our office, Paula loves spending her time with family and friends.  Her favorite past-time used to be riding motorcycles with her husband (can you picture her as a motorcycle mama?), but then she says that age and wisdom took over and she decided it was a little too dangerous for her.

Now her favorite way to spend her time outside of the office is by going with friends to watch girly movies.  One of her favorite actresses is Sandra Bullock, not just for her acting abilities, but also for the fact that she is caring and confident as a person, actress, and mother.  She also loves going to a good Chinese restaurant with her husband or friends.

Because she and her husband have family scattered far and wide, they get to travel a lot.  She loves going to Kauai, Hawaii and the Bahamas to see her daughters and their families (we still haven't been able to convince her to take our office staff yet, but we're working on it!).

We're so thankful to have Paula in our office.  The next time you come in for an appointment, be sure and tell her hi!  And if you need someone to talk to about anything, know that she's here for you!