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Dr. Martin graduated from the University of Washington Dental School in 1978, and has been practicing dentistry ever since. She received her Masters in Public Health degree from the OHSU School of Medicine in 1997. She served for 8 years on the Oregon Board of Dentistry, and was inducted into the International College of Dentists. She is also a member of the Academy of General Dentistry, the American Dental Association. She has completed rigorous training at the Kois Center for Advanced Dental Learning, and was appointed a Distinguished Mentor at the Center. On a more personal level, Dr. Martin was one of those kids who would have 10 or 12 cavities at a check-up. She has had shots that hurt, fillings that didn’t fit—even a dentist’s thumbprint on the top of a big filling! And she is determined to use her training and expertise so her patients have comfortable visits….even the “shot” (if one is needed). Prevention is very important to Dr. Martin, and she uses her scientific knowledge to evaluate and adopt the latest proven strategies and techniques. |
| To stay current with the newest scientific findings, Dr. Martin is committed to life-long learning. In the last 12 months, she has already taken more than 80 hours of continuing education (and this is the “real stuff” about teeth and mouths, not some investment class). Ask her about her latest class…but beware, she may talk your ear off about it! Thirty years of dental practice, and she is still passionate about it! | |
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Dr. Rita Patterson graduated from the Oregon Health and Science University dental school in 1991. She has practiced dentistry in Canby for 11 years – the last three at Dr. Martin’s office – and since 1995 has taught restorative dentistry at OHSU. Before that, she was the supervising dentist at Oregon State Hospital in Salem. She was honored for her work at OHSU with Nick Marineau Part-Time Faculty Award in 2005, and she is a member of Omicron Kappa Upsilon (www.oku.org), the national dental honor society. Dr. Patterson is also a member of the Academy of General Dentistry (www.agd.org/public), and she remains a student of her profession, enrolling in continuing education courses that keep her abreast of changes and innovations in dentistry. Dr. Patterson can relate to her patients because she didn’t have perfect teeth as a child. Like many youngsters, she needed braces. As a result, she has empathy for her patients and patience and understanding for those who have dental fears. She strives to make patients comfortable in the chair. She is also honest and straightforward with them, using the latest technology and knowledge to arrive at an appropriate course of treatment. |
| On a personal note, Dr. Patterson lives in Canby and enjoys reading, gardening, crafts, woodworking projects, scrapbooking, and watching her two children, Paige and Ethan, take the field for their athletic teams and, in the case of Paige, the llama 4-H righ. She also loves art, earning a bachelor’s degree in art before enrolling in dental school. Dr. Patterson is married to Sean, formerly the sports editor at the Canby Herald and now a writer/editor at George Fox University in Newberg. | |
