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In The News
Chicago
Dental Patients Get their Sugar Fix in Roscoe Village
As featured in Booster
Comfort is the name of the game at Sugar Fix: A Dental Loft in Roscoe Village. After you walk into a dental studio at Sugar Fix, it's easy to make yourself at home: Just lean back against a heated neck pillow, put on some headphones and tune into SIRIUS satellite radio or watch your favorite episodes of "Sex and the City," "Grey's Anatomy" or "Entourage" on a flat-screen TV while getting your teeth cleaned.
Dentist Jessica Emery, who opened Sugar Fix in November, tries to make her dental office feel as far from "clinical" as possible. "It doesn't need to be a sterile environment," she says. An antique chandelier, Oriental rugs, tin ceilings and elegant paintings help to make Sugar Fix an attractive space.
Emery is warm, upbeat and friendly as she gives a tour of her dental loft. "To me, dentistry is a personal experience," Emery says. "I want to pamper everyone. It's all about the experience."
Originally from Boston, Emery grew up getting her teeth cleaned at her mom's dental practice, a space she describes as "very shabby chic. It's got that womanly touch." Although Emery says she always has had positive dental experiences, she says, "It's just been eye-opening how many people have had bad experiences."
She's big on putting people at ease: "I treat people the way I want to be treated," she says. As the only dentist at Sugar Fix, Emery gives each patient plenty of attention and never has more than one patient scheduled at the same time.
Upon arriving at Sugar Fix, patients are asked if they would like a beverage. After they get settled, they are offered a cashmere blanket and their own lip balm with "Sugar Fix" on the label.
At the end of the visit, patients get warm, lemon-scented hand towels, as well as toothpaste, a toothbrush, a well-iced sugar cookie and a folder of information on dental services.
"We'll do anything we can do to make everyone comfortable," Emery says. Services include routine professional cleaning and exams, digital radiographs, veneers, invisible braces, crown and bridge work, and more. Those who get a Smile Makeover, in which Emery helps restore teeth and improve the look of someone's smile, or who spend half a day getting more than routine work, get a hand and foot massage from a professional masseuse.
Emery's clients include children and senior citizens, but most are in their late 20s or 30s to 40s.
When people leave Sugar Fix, Emery says, "Usually they're wowed." They often tell her that the experience was "amazing" or "good."
More often, though, she gets a sense of how positive her clients' reactions are based on word-of-mouth referrals.
"Either people love their dentist or they're on the fence," Emery says. "Everyone deserves to be happy."
Emery graduated from Tufts University and practiced at her mother's dental practice in Boston. After a short visit to Chicago, though, Emery says, "I fell in love with Chicago."
When Emery first moved to Chicago about three and-a-half years ago, she settled in Lincoln Park and worked at a downtown dental practice. But she always had a vision of opening her own place.
She looked along Armitage in Lincoln Park but didn't find a place that suited her. Then she met her now-husband, who already lived in the Roscoe Village area, and happened on the Sugar Fix space in that neighborhood. She knew it was just right. She loved the storefront space, the location and especially the original tin roof ceilings.
As she pulls out some photos of the original space, Emery says, "It was horrific." The floor was a mess, and floors and walls needed to be constructed. It took five months from when she created a plan for Sugar Fix to when she opened in November. "It's a chill, relaxed environment," Emery says. "I love it here."
Emery and her husband now live about a block and a half from Sugar Fix. "I can be here in emergencies," Emery says. "It's just dynamite!"
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