McFarlane-Dhillon Family Dental celebrates opening of new location in Mount Forest

MOUNT FOREST – Starting with just one dental chair, Dr. Robert “Bob” McFarlane began seeing patients in 1979. 

Fast forward 47 years and “Dr. Bob” has grown his practice to include two new partners: his son, Dr. Andrew McFarlane, and Dr. Jaspreet Dhillon.

Located at 535 Main St. N. in Mount Forest as of Feb. 2, the practice’s brand-new facility now offers more support for the community’s dental needs under one roof with the same team of four dentists, two office managers, three administrative members, six hygienists and five dental assistants.

McFarlane-Dhillon Family Dental celebrated the official opening of its new location with an open house for the public and patients on June 14.

The new building features what the partners call “state-of-the-art” equipment, increased appointment offerings, oral diagnosis, preventive dentistry, pediatric dental care, aesthetic dentistry, restorative procedures, sedation, oral surgery, periodontal treatments and orthodontics, to name a few. 

Another bonus offered at the new location is an abundance of parking, something that was lacking at the previous location, the three partners told the Advertiser.

Dhillon said the move to a new facility was driven by multiple factors, but first and foremost by patients.

“They need state-of-the-art equipment to treat them properly. They need parking space. They need a calm atmosphere, because there’s so much anxiety around dentistry,” she said.

The move was also staff-driven, she added, because as dentistry evolves, so too does the requirement for better, more ergonomic working conditions.

“That just keeps changing, so it’s hard to retrofit things sometimes. We had two renovations in the old place, but you can only do so much,” said Dhillon.

Bob agreed the partners  were out of options and Andrew added the practice was at capacity in the old location.

“It’s shocking how we functioned there now that we’re in a larger space, but I think this is a lot calmer, and we’ve got a lot less chaos going on, even though we’re doing the same amount of work,” Andrew said of the new location.

Located on the north end of town, the new building’s  foundation was laid in November 2024. The building, in addition to having more space, is also conveniently located along Main Street (Highway 6).

“(It’s) close to the grocery stores, close to the hardware stores, close to all these major outlets where people spend a lot of time,” said Andrew.

“This was an opportunity to get a bare lot that had all those other factors in place, and still (have) the ability to get access to town water and sewer.”

Plus, he added, with a larger office, the practice can offer more to patients, so they don’t always need to be sent to a specialist in the city.

Bob noted this has had a big impact on the local Anabaptist community.

He said for those who use a horse and buggy for travel, it is a lot to ask to send them to Guelph, Kitchener or elsewhere. 

“By the time they hire a driver, go down for consult, come back, and then go down for treatment, come back and go down for post-op – that’s huge … that’s another reason why it’s nice for us to be able to offer those services,” said Bob.

Dhillon explained some dental offices shy away from treating children, but McFarlane-Dhillon Family Dental can treat them from a “very young age.”

She added, “Otherwise, the wait list for pediatric dentists is a year before you even get their consultation, so I think we’ve just honed our skills, really, in every section of dentistry.”

To keep their practice evolving, Andrew said the three partners, as well as dentist Dr. Jasmine Liew, regularly complete education/training sessions to keep current. 

Returning patients walking into the new building for the first time will notice more natural light, spacious hallways and newer equipment. 

Andrew told the Advertiser everything was carefully chosen with the goal of creating a calming space and having the team work more ergonomically. 

Dhillon said the practice is welcoming new patients, and will always continue to do so.

She explained the practice’s patient base is not just Mount Forest but also the surrounding area, as well as those who have moved away but continue to come back.

“It is always nice to see them,” she said.

Having joined the practice in 1999, Dhillon said she is now seeing second-generation patients, whereas Dr. Bob is seeing third-generation patients.

Dhillon and Bob noted that when the practice first opened, there were no hygienists available – not even in the surrounding cities.

Bob said he had a dental assistant he helped become a hygienist. The practice has also acted as a “placement agency,” he said, bringing in co-op students from the local high school.

“Testing the waters in some aspect of dentistry is where I want to be involved, so they can feed into dental assisting,” said Bob.

He added that years ago, dental assisting was required to become a hygienist, but that is no longer the case.

“And one or two people ended up eventually going to dental school ... because of a high school work placement [at McFarlane-Dhillon Family Dental],” he said.

The dental office also acts as a placement agency for Fanshawe College and Georgian College to assist hygienists.

“That offers a nice twist in our office; our size and the variety of treatments we do, provide really good exposure, and we have the staff available so they’re not lost in the process,” said Bob.

Andrew noted the new space is “built for our patients, this is built for our community. This is going to be here for a very long time, and I think that’s what makes all of us the most proud.”

Dhillon added the practice has been “really blessed” with the patients it has. 

“It’s like family, and it’s my home. We like it here, and it also shows with how long some of our staff have been here … 

“So we must be doing something right,” she said.