Surgeon spans dental/medical bridge

The Daily Inter Lake

For most patients, it's a scary walk down the long hall to Dr. James Ronald's surgical office.

After 30 years as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Ronald understands completely.

"They get so nervous because they don't really know what to expect," he said. "For most patients, it's a one-time thing."

His specialty crosses between the fields of dentistry and medicine. Ronald said he enjoys providing a variety of surgical services to his anxious patients without pain through use of light anesthesia.

"Most people say it's been a good experience - better than expected," he said.

He treats conditions, defects, injuries and aesthetic aspects of the mouth, teeth, jaws and face. From accident victims with facial injuries to bar brawlers with rearranged jaws, Ronald answers an array of emergency calls.

"We do reconstructive surgery," he said.

Until recently, he was the only maxillofacial/oral surgeon for 125 miles. Another such specialist now practices part time in Whitefish.

An influx of more eye, ear, nose and throat specialists as well as plastic surgeons has helped lighten the load in the past six years. But with the valley growing, Ronald looks forward to an associate joining his practice next year.

"I've been looking for a partner for five years," he said.

With his white coat, glasses and friendly manner, Ronald looks like the doctor off an American Medical Association brochure. It's a vision he had of himself since he was a child.

"Since I was 10 or 11, that's what I wanted to do," he said.

Growing up in Minneapolis, Ronald was the eldest of four children. His father, a mechanical engineer, encouraged his progeny to pursue professions where they could run their own businesses.

It seems to have worked.

Along with an oral/maxillofacial surgeon, his family produced a dentist, lawyer and dental hygienist.

With excellent grades in math and science, Ronald was accepted at both dental and medical school after college. Since dental school acceptance came first, he embarked on four years at the University of Minnesota.

Four more years of training in surgery followed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He also spent a four-month stint working - or more like living - at a hospital in Detroit, dealing with trauma patients.

"There's plenty of it in Detroit," he said. "You got a little exposure to all of it."

Ronald's baptism included a steady influx of gunshot, knife and every other wound imaginable. He said he spent a lot of time stitching people up, for which his training in plastic surgery came in handy.

"It was really a great experience," he said.

His wife, Sue, and first daughter were no doubt relieved when he finished training, then joined a large practice back in Minneapolis in 1976.

For the next 15 years, Sue kept busy at home as another daughter and a son expanded their family. Ronald also had little time to spare, practicing in the group of six specialists with four offices.

"It was a big rat race," he recalled.

Ronald never seriously considered leaving Minneapolis although he enjoyed visiting and fishing with Dr. R. D. Smith, a oral and maxillofacial surgeon in the Flathead Valley. He had trained with Smith at the Mayo Clinic.

Fate intervened when Smith broke his back in a skiing accident in 1991. Unable to endure the physically demanding work, he called Ronald to ask him to help find someone to take over his practice.

Ronald explained that the work requires a strong back.

"It's very physically demanding," he said. "There's a lot of bending and twisting."

Ronald hadn't even mentioned his friend's request to his wife when Smith called Sue about six weeks later and asked her if Ronald had found anyone to take over the Flathead practice. Her first question was "What about us?"

His wife wanted to escape the big city and cold Minnesota winters.

"She had 110 reasons why we should and I had 105 reasons why we shouldn't," he said with a laugh. "She won."

Ronald started coming a week every month in 1992. In April 1993, the family moved and he replaced Smith as the area's only oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

"He still lives here," Ronald said with a smile. "He gets to fish and have fun and I'm working."

After the family moved to the Flathead, Sue helped out with the practice for the first three or four years before returning to full-time mother. Ronald has to admit that she was right about the move to Montana and the Flathead Valley.

He finds his work much more enjoyable for a lot of reasons.

"People are friendlier and a lot more laid back," he said. "You can spend more time talking than you can in a busy group practice where it's always rush, rush."

Ronald said he now spends at least a half hour talking with every patient before a procedure. He particularly gets a kick out of talking to teenagers who often come in with wisdom teeth that need extracting.

"I enjoy talking to them about sports and things they're involved with in school," he said.

Compared to the big city, patients from the Flathead Valley and beyond express much more appreciation, Ronald said. People travel from as far away as Eureka, Libby, Browning and Cut Bank for relief from often incredibly painful conditions.

"They appreciate being taken care of," Ronald said. "I get endless comments about how well-cared-for they felt."

He gives much of the credit to his staff. The surgeon said they make the patient's comfort their top priority.

Along with residents, Ronald praised local hospitals. Based on operating at both Kalispell Regional Medical Center and North Valley Hospital, he called the community blessed to have such advanced facilities.

The surgeon ended up at the hospitals working on trauma cases more often than in Minneapolis since he was the only oral and maxillofacial guy in town for a number of years. The new Whitefish surgeon now handles North Valley cases.

Due to the unique nature of his specialty, Ronald performs about 80 percent of his procedures in his office, which suits him just fine. He likes having control of scheduling at the office.

"We try not to make patients wait," he said.

Ronald needs to make room for emergencies in his line of work. He tries to not schedule too far out so people in pain get help as soon as possible.

Although he considers himself fortunate, Ronald said the office sometime gets too busy to help everyone who needs it immediately.

"I always feel badly when we can't get people in," he said.

With his new associate coming next year, Ronald, 59, looks forward to easing that problem.

He also hopes to take more family time with his son, now a sophomore in high school, and one daughter expecting their first grandchild.

But he doesn't want to retire anytime soon and jokes about starting on his next 30 years. Ronald said that he just loves surgery, especially with all the new reconstructive techniques and improvements such as dental implants.

He said implants represent a growing field with immense benefits. The procedure implants an artificial tooth root in a patient's jaw to hold a replacement tooth or bridge firmly in place.

Ronald said implants have given people with congenitally missing teeth a new lease on life with the ability to chew easily plus the pride of nice-looking teeth.

"That's very rewarding," he said with a smile.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.