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Office Visit: Family Ties by Arselia Gales, Assistant Editor

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Header: Office Visit: Family Ties

As a dentist, you spend most of your time at your practice. It's understandable that you might not get many opportunities to see what it's like in another doctor's office. That's why we bring you an "office visit" six times a year. It's a chance for you to meet your peers, see their practices and hear their stories.

This issue we caught up with Dr. Jason Solomon, a South Carolina dentist with a great passion for both his family and his career.

What was the path you took to becoming a dentist?
Dr. Solomon: My path to becoming a dentist is fairly simple. Dentistry has been a major part of my whole life. My dad started his practice in 1979, and since 1981 when I was born, there hasn't been a time when the office wasn't a focal point of our family.

My dad was in private practice by himself for almost 20 years, and worked six days a week. He is a consummate professional, and that still inspires and drives our practice today. Taking time away from the practice for vacations was unheard of in my dad's practice. He wanted his patients to always have access to him. That philosophy is what has helped grow our practice to what it is today.

When I look at my life growing up, and the time I chose to spend at the office or watching continuing education videos rather than doing other things, dentistry stands alone as the one area in which I never lost interest.

I also realized in high school, when I maxed out at 5 feet, 6 inches and not the 6-foot-5 I was hoping for, that my dreams of playing in the NBA were not going to come true.

Office Highlights

Regarding your practice, how is it laid out? What's the workflow like?
Dr. Solomon: Our practice is laid out in a track system. We find this layout to be highly functional for the style of dentistry that we like to perform. We are a practice that thrives on seeing same-day appointments or walk-in emergencies, and this layout helps us navigate the office easily.

What is your practice philosophy?
Dr. Solomon: It's simple. Treat the patient the same way you would like to be treated. Some people who have worked in other offices have come to work for us, but they don't stay because we let the patients dictate our lives, so to speak. That is the way we like to practice.

We are open seven days a week, 84 hours a week, so that we can be there for anyone and everyone. There is no such thing as "having something else to do." Being someone's dentist is a privilege—not a right—and we treat it like that.

Dr. Jason Solomon and Dr. A. Frederick Solomon

What helps set the practice apart from others?
Dr. Solomon: Our staff. To be open 84 hours a week takes a staff that truly cares about what we do. It has taken us a lot of time—and trials and tribulations—to get the right staff. We are fortunate in that, over time, we have been able to hire not only trained people, but more importantly, employees who are good people. They are caring and committed to doing their best for our patients every day.

Also, I can't tell you how much fun it is to be around them. There's always something interesting or funny going on with all of them. We consider them family.

Outside image of office

What are your favorite marketing techniques?
How do you get the word out about your practice?
Dr. Solomon: Social media. Especially Facebook. It has been interesting, watching people relate to our practice over the Internet. We do the typical advertisements with schools or through the phone book. Truthfully though, word of mouth is still one of our favorite marketing techniques.

Even though we are open 84 hours a week, my cellphone is the one that people call if we are closed. I leave my number on the answering machine. My wife and I have spent the last three New Year's Days at the office, doing a root canal or an extraction. We make ourselves available to the patients.

Photo of Office Sign

What do you think is the biggest problem dentists face today?
Dr. Solomon: Initial debt upon graduation. With the amount it takes to start and maintain a practice it has been very hard for individuals to just open up their own practices. In the future I hope that ethical decisions on patient treatment are not sacrificed due to the rise in educational debt.

A mentor of mine, Dr. David Ivey, teaches an ethics course at the Medical University of South Carolina, and I feel that it was a valuable course in my graduate education.

What is the greatest advancement of change you have seen during your tenure as a dentist?
Dr. Solomon: CAD/CAM. Even though we have not incorporated it into our practice, I believe that I will over the next year or two. The cameras have gotten better, and the software has become a lot more capable.

Group Photo of Staff

Looking ahead, what would you like to see dentistry do in terms of the way it operates as a profession in the next five to 10 years?
Dr. Solomon: It has become very competitive. My dad always talks about how everyone used to get together, and there was a certain camaraderie throughout the profession. I hope that the cutthroat style that has occurred between competing offices changes. That is one of the great things that I like about working with five other dentists. We all learn from each other. It doesn't hurt to have someone like my dad around to learn from, who has worked six days a week for 37 years as a general dentist.

What is your favorite procedure?
Dr. Solomon: I like them all. Everything I do presents a new challenge. No patients or situations are the same. The variety keeps me sharp and alert.

What can you not live without?
Dr. Solomon: I know this is all about dentistry, but really it's my family. Obviously, you can see how influential my father has been in my life. My wife, Jessica, and our two kids, Liam and baby Katie, are really what makes my life complete. So I would say it is them, rather than any dental procedure.

Describe the most successful or rewarding experience in your professional life.
Dr. Solomon: Honestly, again this is not answered by my professional dental career, but as my time as an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball coach. I coached a group of young men for five years, and had the best time mentoring and helping them achieve their academic and athletic goals.

Eight of the 12 young men who I coached received athletic scholarships in either football or basketball, and graduated from college. Two of my players even reached the NFL.

What has Dentaltown done for your professional life? For your social life? What is your favorite feature?
Dr. Solomon: It has opened up the line of communication. Dentaltown has allowed for a centralized a place for continuing education. In a lot of ways, it is like Facebook for dentists. With its presence in the world of dentistry continuing to expand, it is allowing us to treat our patients with the best products, techniques, and resources. Images of staff

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Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
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