Dr.

Monday, May 01, 2000

Dr. Catherine Guy, DDS, recently made a move in the right direction – she had a new office built in order to move out of her long-term facilities on Second Street NW.

"We’d spent seven years at the old location," Guy said, noting that she was not the first dentist to occupy it – not by a long shot. The practice there had first been held by two other dentists, and between the three of them they’d been in the tiny offices for at least 30 years.

"I wanted to stay in the old building, actually," Guy said, laughing ruefully.

"But it was on a non-standard lot size, we couldn’t put a handicap-accessible ramp up, there was no off street parking, most of the walls were supporting walls so redoing it would have been hard. There were just too many things which would have had to be changed."

Instead of changing the old place, which she still feels sentimental about - to the point of feeling sad when she drives past - she elected to purchase a lot from the city next to the Mower County Senior Center and build a new office.

So far, her feedback from her patients has been positive.

"They say that it’s big, and they like the parking, and that there are no steps for them to climb," Guy said. She has four additional rooms in this building, and room to expand into the basement if needed.

Upon moving into the new office, Guy made a significant investment into the future – she got a digital X-ray machine. Offering increased speed, computer-archived dental images and reduced radiation exposure for both patients and technicians, the machine is clearly her pride and joy.

"This is really neat," she said, demonstrating how images are stored and displayed.

Her office was the first – and as far as she knows, is still the only – to offer this technology in Austin.

Guy has practiced for more than seven years in Austin – her entire career, in essence. She recently ran across a paper she wrote in grade school about what she wanted to be when she grew up, and it was a dentist. She is currently the only female dentist in town, although she said she doesn’t really reflect on that much. According to her, the atmosphere between dentists in Austin is friendly and warm, and the men treat her just like one of them.

Guy grew up locally, is married to Pete Walker, who also hails from Austin. They have a 2-year-old son, Benjamin.

She is active locally in the Lion’s Club, and in several state dental organizations.

Guy plans to have an open house in June for the new office. Right now her walls are bare, but she hopes to decorate them with student-produced artwork from the middle and high school.

An avid collector of Sasha dolls, Guy has no trouble admitting, "I’m still a kid at heart, myself."