PEDIATRIC DENTIST PRESERVING SMILES IN NEW PRACTICE

Spending your workday with your fingers in the mouths of nervous children probably isn't for everybody. But there's nothing else Dr. Natalie Carr would rather do.

Carr has been a pediatric dentist in the Tampa area for about eight years. She recently opened her own practice, Carr Pediatric Dentistry, at 11936 Boyette Road in Boyette Executive Center. The practice has been open for a few months, but it celebrated its grand opening last month.

Pediatric dentistry, like any other medical specialty, requires several extra years of schooling.

"Some of that extra training is in growth and development," Carr said. "And a lot of it is devoted to psychological issues."

For the most part, though, Carr said she finds her young patients easy to deal with. She has made her office a fun place for kids, even installing a television in the ceiling so her patients can watch their favorite movie while they're in the chair.

One key to getting children over their fear of going to the dentist, she said, is starting them early. Experts recommend children make their first visit to the dentist when they're only a year old.

If they start young and go to a dentist they feel comfortable with, many kids actually enjoy going to the dentist, she said.

Carr grew up in Apollo Beach, studied dentistry in Chicago and served an internship in Texas. She always expected to return home to practice. She worked with the Dental Health group, now called Great Expressions, for many years before she started her own practice. She currently serves as president of the Hillsborough County Dental Association.

Carr Pediatric Dentistry is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Call (813) 672-3368 or visit carrdental.com.

* * *

Discounter's focus: presentation

VALRICO - After years of opening stores for a major retail chain, Andrew Cox had a vision for a new kind of discount store.

In September, he opened the Dollar Market, at 2549 Highway 60 S, next to Sweetbay Supermarket.

The idea was to sell inexpensive items in a setting that's more common in upscale stores.

"Presentation is very important to us," said Cox, the store's CEO. "People come in the door all the time and stop and say 'This is the cleanest store I've ever seen.'"

And although some "dollar" stores simply sell discounted products, Cox said he tries to take the store's name more literally.

"Our goal is to drive all our prices down to under a dollar," he said. "Right now about 80 to 85 percent of our items are under a dollar, and we're finding new ways to get prices down all the time."

The store, which opened in September, carries all sorts of items, from grocery items to kitchen utensils, balloons and clothing. Christmas shoppers already have started coming in looking for stocking stuffers, Cox said.

The Dollar Market opens at 10 a.m. every day and closes at 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 5 p.m. Sunday. Call (813) 662-7283.

If you know of something that should be in Everybody's Business, contact Marty Clear at mclear@tampabay.rr.com.