Benicia Family Dentistry Celebrates 25th Anniversary

On June 6, 1986, with three staff members, Dr. Barry Parish opened his dental office at 325 Military West.  is now commemorating its 25-year anniversary and the changes are many.

In the light-filled modern office in the Von Pfister Building on First Street, a staff of twenty serves a patient load of 3000. Dr. Brandy Hutchens joined the group in August 2000.

Parish says he appreciates the opportunity to practice in Benicia. His move to the Von Pfister Building in 1998 has allowed him to be an integral part of the downtown growth. With 3,000 clients, many coming in twice a year, says Parish, his business continues to draw people down First Street, and he is happy to contribute.

“This place is a magical town. It’s a Beaver Cleaver Town. We’ve watched First Street come alive.”

Some of Parish’s patients have been with him for the entire 25-year span. Three of his current staff were patients as children: Roxanne Hadaway, Stacey Fortner, and Monica Jobe. Jobe, Parish says, even commented in her Benicia yearbook that she wanted to work at Benicia Family Dentistry. And, now she does.

Parish says he has seen changes in dentistry that he couldn’t have imagined when he first opened. For example, the office  waiting room houses a coffee bar and large flat-screen television. But the viewing fare is not typical. A patient can relax with a beverage and watch the color screen as his crown is being designed by a CAD technician. That and more high-tech upgrades continue to change his practice, says Parish, taking him far from his beginnings a quarter-century ago.