Back in Rock Hill—at Cranford Dental

Nearly a year has passed since I came back to Rock Hill and joined my father and sister at Cranford Dental. Really, I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone by.

Here I share what I love about working in my hometown, Rock Hill, South Carolina and the positives about working with family at our local dental office.

Listen to Dr. Will Cranford on Coming Home to Rock Hill on Radio WRHI:

Friends New and Old

Cranford Dental has been serving the people of Rock Hill for nearly 40 years. Without a doubt, I am honored to step in and continue providing the latest and best dental care possible to friends old and new.

Of course, Rock Hill has changed since I grew up here. As we know, this city has exploded with growth. Thus there are more activities and events, numerous new restaurants and many, many new faces.

I love getting to treat people I’ve known for years (some who helped raise me.) But it’s just as great to meet new people and welcome them to our community.

Many of the patients at Cranford Dental have been seeing Dr. Cranford for over 30 years. And his long time staff members watched me grow up.

One of the patients I saw in my first month of Cranford Dental was my preschool teacher, Mrs. Gail Helms. Also, I was happy to see hygienist Judy Murray who worked at our office my whole life. In fact, she was there when I was born.

So many nice people in Rock Hill and more coming! Yes I am excited for what’s next for Rock Hill and Cranford Dental.

Lessons from Cranford Dental

Thanks to my dad Dr. Cranford and my sister Dr. Robinson for sharing these keys to a well run modern and enjoyable dental office:

Keep up with Innovations in Dentistry

Admirably, Dr. Cranford has strived to be on the cutting edge dental technology. He started doing “Same-Day Crowns” back in 2001. At that time <1% of dentists in America were offering that service.

Since then, we have incorporated 3D Printing, Digital impressions, and soon to come CBCT radiology. And our office has 30+ computers to help us with all aspects of dentistry.

Conversely, I have friends who joined practices that still used paper charts. Now they, as new dentists, are having to completely overhaul the technology at their new practice, while figuring out how real world dentistry works. And while learning everything else that goes into running a dental office.

Thank you, Dad and Elizabeth, for providing a top notch modern office for me to return to.

Work with a Fantastic Staff

In my unbiased opinion, we have a great team of administrators, assistants, and hygienists. Each one is helpful and kind and happy with what they do.

Thankfully, most of the staff members have been here at Cranford Dental for many years. And they are generous in passing their knowledge and hints on to a young new dentist.

I am glad to get to work with such an amazing group of ladies and (of course) one gentleman. What am I going to do when he retires???

Relationships Matter Most

Over the past 40 years in Rock Hill, the dentists have worked with wonderful patients who become friends.

From this, I have come to see that dental visits are better experiences when the patients know the dentists and staff members. And even more important, the dental team understands what the patients value and expect.

To me, it appears that we have the best patients in the world here in Rock Hill. For sure, we enjoy seeing people on a regular basis and keeping up with their family members.

Of course, I plan to continue to earn the trust with ethical, comprehensive dental care.

My biggest lesson this first year may be how important it is to really get to know the people who visit the office. Our patients make coming back home to Rock Hill a great experience. And knowing us helps make their visit enjoyable.

Dr. Will Cranford

Keep on Learning

One of my favorite things about dentistry is that there is always something new to learn. Some of this has to do with new technology and new techniques

Dental school is challenging, but some things can’t be taught in the classroom or in the controlled environment of a university clinic. Luckily, I have Dr. Bill and Dr. Elizabeth to fill in the gaps. This year, I have learned a great deal from them about patient interaction and time management.

But the most important thing I have learned is to always improve yourself as a dentist and person. No matter how much you know about a topic there is always more to learn.

At Cranford Dental, our goal is to offer the latest and greatest care. To make this possible, each of us takes hours of Continuing Education Courses each year to improve our knowledge and skills.

 Work with a Great Dentist Team

At Cranford Dental, we dentists work together to achieve the best outcomes for our patient’s. Two heads are better than one, but three heads are even better.

Understandably, I am thankful to be able to work with other dentists who are experts in different areas of dentistry. And of course I appreciate their experience and perspective that they pass on to me.

Hopefully they have learned from my recent training in the best and latest in dentistry.

If you take the same patient to 5 different dentists, there will be 5 different plans for the patient’s treatment. All of them are working towards the same goal, but going about it in slightly different ways.

At our office, we consult with each other to arrive at the best possible diagnosis or treatment plan, all in the same office.

Questions for Dr. Will Cranford:

I would love to show you why I am happy I returned to Rock Hill and Cranford Dental. Clearly, we have a great community. At our office, we work hard to help keep Rock Hill a great place to live and work.

Contact us at 803-324-7670 or make an appointment online or stop by our office at 1721 Ebenezer Road in Rock Hill, SC. I look forward to welcoming you to Rock Hill (if you are new to town) and to Cranford Dental.