MANSFIELD – When Dr. Dale Anne Featheringham first opened her orthodontics practice in Mansfield, she took a leap of faith in a brand-new neighborhood.
Now more than a decade later, Featheringham Orthodontics has become a staple in the local dental community and is growing by leaps and bounds. It reaffirms the feeling of home Featheringham first had moving to Mansfield in 2006.
“I grew up by Steubenville, and people there are the same way – very nice, unassuming people,” she recalled. “It felt like home.”
Fortunately, the community has embraced Featheringham in return. This fall, Featheringham Orthodontics was a finalist in the 15-employees-and-over category for the Richland Area Chamber Small Business Awards. Alumni Roofing earned the top honors in that category; Carousel Works was the third finalist.
There were a total of 59 businesses nominated for the Small Business Awards, with just 24 semifinalists and six finalists for the two honors.
“My first thought was I was delighted for our staff, our team works incredibly hard day in and day out to do an above-the-norm job in healthcare,” Featheringham said. “I was so happy for them, to get outside recognition like that is unusual in healthcare. You get patients recognizing you, but it’s unusual to get external community recognition.”
Before coming to Mansfield, Featheringham earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) from The Ohio State University in 2000 and got her first job in a dental practice in the Cleveland area. She moved back to Columbus to complete an MBA at Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business, with the goal of eventually opening her own practice.
“By the time I graduated I’d worked in two different practices, and learned a lot from working with someone else,” Featheringham said. “At that point I didn’t want to work for a third person.”
Featheringham began scouting locations to open her own orthodontics practice, and learned from a former classmate that there was a need for orthodontics in Mansfield. After a tour of the area from Mike Green, a former fraternity brother of her father’s, Featheringham was hooked.
“Everybody I met was just overwhelmingly helpful, supportive, kind and encouraging, and I thought this was the place to be,” Featheringham said. “The local orthodontists were also really supportive, and that never happens. It’s so unusual for someone who’s going to be your competitor to say welcome.”
Featheringham Orthodontics officially opened with just one employee in February 2006 on Cline Avenue. Since then, the practice has grown exponentially to include 20 full-time and part-time employees as well as two doctors. The practice is currently located at 265 Sterkel Boulevard.
The steady expansion of Featheringham’s practice didn’t come without some growing pains. In the very beginning, Featheringham remembers having to overcome the initial stress of being a small business owner.
“If you work for somebody you don’t see that side of it,” Featheringham said. “I remember one day a few months after I opened sitting at a stoplight and thinking, oh my gosh I’m totally responsible for my employee. She is totally dependent on me. You have moments of stress like that where you’re hoping it all works.”
As she added more employees, Featheringham learned that there were also challenges with leading a larger staff. The key, she said, is effective communication at all levels.
“Initially you don’t have to have that many systems, but as it gets bigger you realize the importance of having systems in place to make sure you have consistency among your employees,” Featheringham said. “Once we got over that hurdle, it was a good thing, but you have to hit that point where you realize it’s not a tiny practice anymore.”
Of course, adding more staff members also opened the door to more rewards in her profession. The feeling of building a strong team in her practice is one Featheringham finds extremely rewarding.
“My staff are my friends, too,” Featheringham said. “People care more when they are professionally and personally committed to each other. And the dental community in Mansfield, the kindness and teamwork. It’s a really communal experience.”
Currently, Featheringham Orthodontics has locations in both Mansfield and Wooster. Featheringham has recently combined practices with two orthodontists in the Columbus area in order to expand locations and continue to grow; a practicein Westerville is next on the horizon.
“We’re just expanding our footprint, and for me it’s nice to have help with management that allows us each to delve into our area of interest like clinical research or marketing, whatever our specific interest is,” Featheringham said.
However, at the core of her practices is the continued care Featheringham has for her patients.
“Getting to know the families and the long relationships we have with families is the most rewarding,” she said. “We have families who are on their fourth kid, and I just love the long relationships we have with families.”
