Voted Best Dentist in Winter Park and Maitland for 2015

Each year, the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce and the Winter Park / Maitland Observer asks the community to vote for their favorite local business. This year, our dental office, Dr. Drew Byrnes Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, was voted “Best Dentist” in Winter Park and Maitland! We were recognized on January 22nd, 2015, at a special awards ceremony called the Ovation Awards.

This is a huge honor for me and our office. So, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who voted for us and to everyone who appreciates us being apart of this wonderful community. This is a particularly meaningful acknowledgment because I have been working in our current Winter Park location for less than a year. (Prior to having my own office here, I worked in a few other locations in the Orlando area.) To be voted “Best Dentist” in that amount of time is unheard of and I think I should give credit where credit is due. I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about the long history of our office and to brag about our amazing staff.

Our dental office has been serving the Winter Park, Maitland and Orlando area for over 70 years. It was opened by Dr. Wilbur Jennings in about 1945. Dr. Jennings first started working as a dentist in the Navy. After completing his service, he opened the doors of his own dental practice in Winter Park, FL. The original office was over on New England Avenue. We still have patients in our office today who remember Dr. Jennings’ jovial personality. They say he was lighthearted and always had his patients laughing about one thing or another. Around 1970, Dr. Jennings moved his practice to our current location where he later sold the practice to a young buck named Alan Price.

Dr. Alan Price was the solo dentist in our office for about 40 years until he retired last May. As a native Floridian, Alan has been a Winter Park resident for many years. While we do still have some patients that remember Dr. Jennings (our own hygienist, Cheryl, saw Dr. Jennings when she was a child!), the majority of our practice has had Dr. Price as their family dentist. Just like Dr. Jennings, Dr. Price served several years in the Navy before practicing privately.

Now alongside any doctor is his staff, and not to brag too much, but I think I have the best staff. Our hygienist Paula has been with the practice for 31 years! Ask anyone who sees Paula regularly for their cleanings and they’ll tell you that Paula is more than just a friend, she’s family. Like I mentioned before, our other hygienist, Cheryl, even saw Dr. Jennings when she was younger so she can attest to his kindness (and great dentistry!). Both dentist became apart of the very fabric of that makes this community great and it is my dream to do the same.

When it comes down to it, this award means a lot to me. It doesn’t just showcase my work as a dentist, but honors the work that my staff puts forth and it shows how we’ve come to connect with our patients and this community. It’s a place where three generations of dentist have become much more than just a “dentist” to their patients.

So, on behalf or Dr. Jennings, Dr. Price, Paula, Cheryl, Joyce, Kimberly, Catherine and myself…

Thank you friends!