Changing of the Guard -- and Generations -- at Downtown Dental Office

, a family dentist in Healdsburg for over two decades, announced his retirement last month, but another generation is already poised to take over the practice.

Replacing the 65-year old Alexander will be 29-year-old formerly of the practice at Healdsburg Avenue and March Lane.

“My father and grandfather were both dentists,” said Alexander. “The expectation was I was going to be one, too, which I resisted for 15 years.”

During that period, the reluctant young Alexander spend some time with the San Francisco Zen Center and doing construction work -- until finally, he felt it was his decision to go into dentistry.

“That made me the senior member of the dental class at UCSF,” he said. He graduated in 1986.

He and his family have lived in Healdsburg for 22 years, first with a practice on Matheson and for the past 16 years at the Grant Street offices -- the one with the distinctive giant molar on the sign at the corner of Center Street.

His daughter Jeanine, who grew up here, left Healdsburg to travel the world with a bicycle circus. She’s back now, growing a family of her own.

Alexander’s official retirement was Jan. 31, but he was in the office the day I last visited (for my semi-annual cleaning and exam), continuing as a consultant for Whitely.  

Among his outside interests are music – he’s frequently attended the Kate Wolf Festival in Mendocino – and bicycling. “I’ve ridden in the several times,” he said of the four-year-old county tour started by

Stacie Giammana, office manager, has been with Alexander for about 15 years, and I asked her what’s changed about the practice.

“He finally got his dream staff over the last five years,” she said.

That “dream staff” includes dental assistant Katarina (Katke) Ripova, who’s worked with the office for almost six years; and dental technicians Yvette Valladares and Candace Gilliland, who is currently on maternity leave. Both have been with the practice for over two years.

Whitely, originally from Modesto, came to Healdsburg 18 months ago after graduating from Loma Linda Dental School near Riverside.

His wife, Joanna Whitely, is from Healdsburg, having attended ; now they have two daughters, Michaela and Madelynn, and are active members of the community.

are just ending their year as "Healdsburg's Cutest Couple," according to last year's Patch poll. (for the current on-going nominees.)

When I asked the soft-spoken Alexander what he will miss about his practice, he replied, “That’s easy – long-term relationships with patients. And the staff – I have the best staff now I’ve ever had.”

The staff will stay on with Whitely, in the same corner offices at Grant and Center. Alexander and Whitely have fully reviewed all records with an eye toward keeping continuity in care for the patient base.

And the giant molar sign? For the time being, it will stay where it is, with Whitely’s name added.