{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Ballou dental practice closure will mark end of an era &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Lew7pzjna8\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/ballou-dental-practice-closure-will-mark-end-era\/\">Ballou dental practice closure will mark end of an era<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/ballou-dental-practice-closure-will-mark-end-era\/embed\/#?secret=Lew7pzjna8\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Ballou dental practice closure will mark end of an era&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"Lew7pzjna8\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/3-col-Drs-Ballou.jpg","thumbnail_width":420,"thumbnail_height":298,"description":"With the exception of three years during WWII, there has been at least one practicing dentist in Whitley County with the last name Ballou since 1938. Sometimes there have been as many as four at one time, and usually at least two. After June 30 this will no longer be the case. Dr. Elbert Lewis \u201cBert\u201d Ballou and his brother, Dr. Robert Ballou, who has practiced with him part time for the last two years, plan on closing their practice in Williamsburg at the end of June marking the end of an era of sorts. Bert Ballou said there was no particular thing that prompted his decision other than it was just time. \u201cIt\u2019s been a good run but you have to go on no matter what,\u201d Bert Ballou said. Bert Ballou said that no one will be taking over the practice. He is just closing it up. Bert Ballou, 81 has been a practicing dentist since August 1964 working out of the same office on Main Street for 53 years. He has some patients that he has been seeing for his entire career, and it\u2019s his patients that he is going to miss most. \u201cThey are sort of like family. I sort of hate to leave but you have to sometimes,\u201d Bert Ballou said. Long line of dentist The brothers come from a long line of people working in dentistry. Robert and Bert\u2019s uncle, Dr. O.L. Ballou, started practicing dentistry in 1938. With the exception of three years during WWII he practiced in Whitley County until he retired. Their older brother, Sam Ballou, also practiced in Whitley County for several years. Then there is their first cousin that is a dentist in Richmond. \u201cHe says he is the \u2018northern\u2019 dentist,\u201d Robert said laughing. In addition, their niece is a periodontist, who works in London along with her dentist husband. Secret to success? So what is the secret to staying in business for 46 or 53 years? \u201cBecause you need to do something. What else are you going to do? I can\u2019t go out there and dig up stumps all the time. I might as well do something,\u201d Bert Ballou said laughingly. \u201cMeeting people is the fun part of it. You meet different types of people. You learn a lot of psychology talking to people. You have to learn how to talk to some people. You have to handle certain patients certain ways.\u201d Robert Ballou gave a similar answer. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know any better,\u201d Robert Ballou said laughingly. \u201cIt\u2019s the family tradition. I never felt like it was just work. I\u2019ve made a lot of good friends. I have patients that are friends.\u201d Robert Ballou, who doesn\u2019t plan on full-time retirement, said the thing he will miss most is having something to do every day. \u201cI\u2019ll have plenty to do. I won\u2019t be bored,\u201d he said. Robert Ballou plans to continue working part-time in Richmond with his cousin, and to go on a mission trip to a foreign country, which is something Bert did once in Brazil. \u201cI don\u2019t plan to quit. I just don\u2019t want to work real hard,\u201d Robert Ballou noted. \u201cI plan to fish, raise a garden and go visit grandchildren and try to keep up with them.\u201d Robert Ballou, who practiced for 44 years in Corbin and the past two years in Williamsburg, said there are differences to practicing between the two towns. \u201cThere is a lot more Medicaid and a lot less insurance here than there was in Corbin,\u201d Robert Ballou noted. Changes in dentistry Things have changed since the pair first started practicing dentistry. When Bert Ballou first started patient medical records were kept on an index card. If you filled it up, you just started another index card and stapled it to the old one, which isn\u2019t the case any more. He is currently looking for a big shredder in order to dispose of several old patient records, some of which he will have no reason to keep after June 30. \u201cWhen I stared in 1964, I think once every two or three months I would have an insurance case,\u201d Bert Ballou recalled. \u201cMost patients paid cash. There wasn\u2019t any Medicaid then either. The charges were kind of ridiculous.\u201d He recalls Dr. Sam Ballou charging $3 for an extraction, but if he pulled two teeth the charge was only $5. \u201cI don\u2019t know how you could make a living doing that now,\u201d Bert Ballou added. Robert Ballou said there is a \u201cnight and day\u201d difference in materials used for fillings than there were 40-plus years ago. \u201cYou don\u2019t take out as many teeth now as you do preventive dentistry,\u201d Robert Ballou said. \u201cThat is another thing, dental health in the southern end of Whitley County isn\u2019t as good as it is in the northern end overall. That is my opinion. That is just what I see. Somebody might do a study and prove me wrong.\u201d Robert Ballou noted that the drug problem has made a \u201cbig\u201d negative impact in dental health in Whitley County. One common side effect of methamphetamine usage, which has been a major drug of choice in Whitley County for several years, is what\u2019s called \u201cmeth mouth\u201d or very serious and extreme tooth decay. \u201cThere is a lot of meth mouth,\u201d Robert Ballou noted. The area\u2019s prescription drug problem also comes into play sometimes when patients come in to get dental work done and want pain medication. Bert Ballou recalls one case where a woman came in to have a tooth pulled that was just about falling out. \u201cI suspected she was wanting some drugs, and I made a point and said, \u2018You won\u2019t need any pain pills for this.\u2019\u201d Bert Ballou said. \u201cShe went home and told either her husband or boyfriend.\u201d Then he got a call from the significant other saying \u201cthis place was killing her\u201d and that he was coming down there. Bert sent his office staff to lunch early, and called Williamsburg Police Officer Russell Jones, [&hellip;]"}