Phuket Post :: Article :: Yupares Nimkarn, DDS., MS.

On a recent holiday to Koh Samui, Doctor Yupares ran into a childhood friend, from way back when they were in school together.

Delighted to see each other again, they talked about their lives and what they do now.

�I'm an orthodontist� Dr Yupares, who's also known by her nickname 'A' told her, never expecting the look of stunned disbelief that crossed her friend's eyes, at this revelation.

�Oh my God, really?� whispered her friend, awed. �I can't believe it. Do you remember, A, all those years ago, when we were only 12 years old, you told me you wanted to be the kind of doctor 'who does braces'!�

Indeed, Doctor Yupares had forgotten how far back she had made up her mind, but now she's definitely living her adolescent ambition. An orthodontist is precisely the kind of dentist that fits you with braces.

She went to dental school in the United States, which explains her excellent English.

With her mild, softly-spoken manner and jovial, pleasant personality, she's the just the kind of person you'd be happy to entrust your precious set of 32 with.

�At DC One,� she says, �that is what we aim for. A friendly, happy place where people can feel good about themselves, and about the care they get. Right from the beginning, seven years ago when we started our first clinic in Bangkok, that is what we had hoped to build.�

�Of course a lot of people would think of that as an oxymoron,� she chortles, � feeling happy at the dentist's! But that is precisely what we'd like to be; a place that's much more than just a Dental Care Clinic: we want to be a place that exudes an atmosphere of friendship and warmth, where people can feel confident and can get what they need to improve the quality of their lives.�

The key factor at their organisation, she says, is not the medical prowess of the doctors. �That should be a given,� Dr Yupares points out. �You went to medical school, so you should be good at that. Providing that medical care with warmth and caring, treating patients as if they were your family: that is key.�

�You know when I fist started recruiting, I used to start by looking at the CVs of the applicants; their grades and how well they did in school.

�Now, the CV is the last thing I look at.�

Dr Yupares spends time chatting to the would-be members of her team, (�You can tell so much about their characters just by listening to them.�), looking for the kind of doctors that would fit in with her vision of her organisation. �I don't want to be influenced by grades. I'd like to find caring, compassionate individuals, who we can rely on to really take care of our patients.�

They now have a team of 28 dentists under the same roof at DC One Bangkok.
�This affords our patients a lot of convenience,� she explains. �They can find everything they need under one roof, no matter how specialised their needs maybe.�

Oral surgeons, orthodontists, endodondists (the root canal-ists), periondontists (gum surgeons!), prosthodontists (fake teeth, dentures), pedodontists (for children), operative dentists (restoration of tooth structure) � my vocabulary has tripled after this interview � and general dentists, are all part of the team.

Their clients come from far and wide; Burma, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, even Southern India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and even from Europe and America. And of course, from Thailand.

The Phuket team currently has four resident specialists, and the team from Bangkok is mobilised whenever required. Dr Yupares who lives in Bangkok, with her husband Khun Poompong, visits the Phuket clinic at least once a week. She had been consulting with hospitals in the state for a number of years before she decided to bring DC One to Phuket.

�It's all part of our retirement plan,� she reveals. �We've been coming here for a number of years and both my husband and I think this is just the kind of place we would like to end up.

�It's a great place, so beautiful and friendly.�

We're meeting at the Watermark, not far from the DC One clinic, and Dr Yupares is accompanied by her colleagues from the clinic and her husband who is, by profession...a builder.

�Ah, not a dentist?� I ask, surprised, for Khun Poompong, who has also studied abroad and speaks excellent English himself, is the only one of the group sporting a smart DC One T-shirt.

�No,� grins Dr Yupares, �he gets the T-shirt for free.�

The couple have a large circle of friends in Bangkok, and are beginning to expand their social circle in Phuket too. Talk moves on to movies -- she's keen to watch the latest Bourne movie -- and parties. Do dentists party?

This one does.

�Most of my friends in Bangkok are gay,� she informs me. �so we have these really wild parties, where everyone is dressed up in outrageous outfits. It's very difficult for straight people to really participate.

�So I usually sit in a corner, my rightful place,� she grins.

We're sure the vivacious lady will carve a comfortable cavity for herself in Phuket too. In the meanwhile, she's doing what she loves...fitting folks with braces.

DC One Dental Clinic. 20/64 Med Park at the Boat Lagoon. T: 076 239 525-6 E: infophuket@dc-one.com