Dental practice changes hands after 40 years
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on September 4, 2017 5:50 AM
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News-Argus/JOEY PITCHFORD
Dr. H.G. Moore III, left, works with Carla Pate, dental hygienist, center, and Carol Long, certified dental assistant, right. Long has worked with Moore for 40 years, and Pate joined in 2003, having been a patient from the time she was 4 years old.
After more than 40 years of operation in Goldsboro, H.G. Moore III and Associates dentistry is taking on a new identity.
In mid-August, Dr. Moore sold the practice, at 2702 Medical Office Place, to Riccobene Associates Family Dentistry, a company which owns 15 dental offices around North Carolina. The sale will ensure that the office keeps the same staff that patients have come to know while also adding new technology and specialists under one roof, Moore said.
Those specialists will perform functions such as oral surgery and anesthesia.
Moore said that the move to Riccobene Associates had put his mind at ease about the future of his practice as he gets older.
"It just makes me feel good to know that our patients are going to receive the best care on off into the future, because I'm older than dirt," he said with a laugh.
Having dedicated specialists come to the office on a weekly basis will make it unique in Goldsboro, Moore said, because patients will be able to get comprehensive care from their regular dentists and the specialists all under one roof.
It will also make things easier on the dentists, who will be able to speak face-to-face with specialists about cases they are working on.
"I think just being familiar with the people here, and if there's ever a question about 'Dr. Moore, what do you really want,' instead of picking up the telephone just being able to step into the other room and discuss the case is wonderful," he said.
Dr. Michael Riccobene, owner of Riccobene Associates, stressed that the office will still be run by the same staff patients have come to know. Moore's practice is the first of Riccobene's 15 offices to be acquired, as opposed to being a newly opened facility.
"We saw the patient base built up here, and we saw the office culture here, and we decided this was not something we could replicate," Riccobene said. "Not much is going to be changing in the day-to-day operations. This is really just about enhancing that experience."