How About a Facial with That Root Canal?
Dentist Garret Madderra Adds Spa Pleasures to Ardor of Dental Work

Dr. Garret Madderra stands in the calming atmosphere of his dental
office located at 2370 Market St.

By Kyla Calvert

Sitting on a stylish suede chair surrounded by orchid arrangements, sipping lemon water is probably not how most people start their average visit to the dentist. In fact, aside from the unmistakable reclining chairs with the large, moveable lights hanging above them, there is not much about Dr. Garret Madderra’s cosmetic dental practice on Market Street that feels like the average dentist’s office.

After commuting to Sacramento from the Duboce Triangle area five days a week for 14 years, Madderra opened his Market St. office, tucked between the UPS Store and the H&R Block office, in 2003.

About a year ago, the practice hired a licensed esthetician and became one of the city’s first full-service dental spas. From mini-facials and neck and shoulder massages to paraffin wax hand treatments, every client receives 10 to 20 minutes of soothing treatments following their dental work.

“I’ve never been of the ‘drill ‘em, fill ‘em’ philosophy of dentistry,” explained Madderra. “I’ve always been attracted more to the healing arts side of dentistry, helping people look and feel better.”
This approach to dental care explains why, after seeing a dental spa in Spain, Madderra wanted to provide similar services to his own community.

Although plenty of people in San Francisco still dread visits to the dentist as semi-annual mini-torture sessions, the idea of offering add-on services is catching on.

“When we started offering spa services a little over a year ago, we were the only people doing this is San Francisco. Now if you do a search for dental spas in the City you pull up eight or nine different offices,” said Madderra.

“I think that new patients that come in now are more likely to come back for follow-up treatments because they remember it as a pleasant experience.”

While most of the clients who end up coming back for a la carte spa services start out as dental patients, the office is seeing more walk-in spa business. Aside from the complimentary service dental patients receive, the facial peels, waxing services and medi-facials are catching on with Castro residents.

“We’re starting to see spa clients who become dental patients now, instead of the other way around,” explained Charlisa Cotton, the practice’s esthetician.

“When I first interviewed for this position I thought it was a little weird, spa services in a dentist’s office,” Cotton continued. “But, now that I understand the way Dr. Madderra works, we really focus on the intersection of health and beauty. Looking better and feeling better go hand in hand, it just makes so much sense.”

It may be the relaxing feel of the office as much as the free skin consultations that keep patients coming back.

“Patients come in and feel like they’re in relaxation mode,” explains the practice’s business manager and whitening specialist, Billy Phenix. “The feel of the office really reflects Dr. Madderra’s personality. He’s a very calm person, easy to get along with.”

After working in dentistry for more than 20 years, the thing that sets apart this office from all of the others for Phenix is not just how relaxed the patients say they feel. “You hear a lot of laughter coming from the back rooms in this office. People don’t usually laugh much with their dentist.”
Patients attest to the difference, too.

“The office is just a more relaxed place than any other dentist I’ve been to,” said Ryan Brody, who works down the block at the John Brody Salon and stopped by to chat.

“It feels more modern and clean, where as most dentists’ offices just feel sterile,” Brody said. “The waiting area feels like a show room – coming here just isn’t a painful experience at all, the way you think of a visit to the dentist being.”

Dr. Garret Madderra, DDS, is located at 2370 Market St. and is open Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for full dental and spa services, and Thursdays by appointment for spa and teeth whitening services. 552-9200, www.madderradentistry.com.

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