From the Looks of It, Back to School Doesn’t Bite

The back-to-school season is a perfect time to schedule your family’s dental and eye checkups.

Drs. Dirk and Lanita Thomas and family.

Dr. Dirk Thomas of Thomas Dental & Eye Care says ­providing his home phone number to his patients is a good example of his approach to customer service. “We see our customers all over town and that’s great, because we provide excellent care and they are pleased with the results,” explains Dr. Dirk. “If you have to hide from your patients, something isn’t right.” This hometown dentist and his wife, optometrist Dr. Lanita Thomas, offer state-of-the-art dental and eye care with small-town familiarity.

The eyeglass boutique inside Thomas Dental & Eye Care features top designer names including Oakley, Maui Jim and Kate Spade. In fact, they have a huge selection of sunglasses that can be fitted with your prescription. “We use Oakley labs, and our Oakley selection rivals any in the region,” says Dr. Lanita. “Plus, there is no sales tax when you buy from us because we are a professional office, so that in itself saves our customers over eight percent.”

As summer comes to a close and the new school year approaches, now is the time to address your family’s dental and eye care needs. The best plan for great vision and proper oral health is regular checkups and preventative care. At their offices in the Cornerstone Shopping Center, the Thomas doctors take the time to give thorough examinations and ­prefer to address any potential problems early.  

Dr. Lanita and her fellow vision care specialist, Dr. Robert Vincent, say that children’s vision problems often go ­undetected, although squinting, headaches, and closing or ­covering one eye can be a sign of trouble. A thorough eye exam, including dilation, should be ­performed on adults and children every year, because many health issues show up in the eyes before the symptoms become obvious elsewhere.

Dr. Vincent is in the office Monday through Friday and also believes in taking the time to do things correctly. Many customers come to Thomas Dental & Eye after becoming frustrated with the high-volume, quick-exam style of discount optometry shops. “It’s always a better value to pay for quality once, rather than discounted services over and over.” Your glasses will be professionally fitted to your face, offer precision prescription strength and provide incredible clarity.

Transition® Lenses, variable tint lenses that darken on exposure to UV radiation, are available at Thomas, as well as examinations and prescriptions for Latisse®, the first and only FDA-approved treatment for inadequate or not enough lashes.  

On the dental side, Dr. Dirk Thomas and his staff utilize the latest dental technology and put a high priority on keeping their patients comfortable and relaxed during their visit. Patients are greeted with cushy leather couches, softly scented candles and a spa-like atmosphere. Dental patients can sit back and relax in the memory foam chairs, slip on the headphones and enjoy the quiet or choose a favorite family movie to watch on the television screens mounted over each chair. Add nitrous and a cozy blanket and some patients aren’t ready to leave when the dental work is done.

When budgets are tight, preventative dental care is often targeted as unnecessary, but Dr. Dirk points out that having regular checkups not only is economically sound, it’s much healthier for the patient. It is far less expensive to prevent problems or diagnose them early than it is to fix it later when the disease has progressed. He also shares that patients actually live an average of four years longer when they are able to keep their own teeth.

Dr. Dirk sums it up this way, “Our goal is for you to enjoy your visit. We will schedule your appointment quickly, courteously answer your questions, maximize your insurance benefits and provide you with the highest quality of care by experienced professionals. What more could you ask for?”

Thomas Dental & Eye Care is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and both practices are accepting new patients. Emergency ­appointments are available.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call them at (918) 376-2700.

For more information, contact

Thomas Dental & Eye Care

(918) 376-2700