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Dentist with local ties takes over firm from Dr. Todd Salmans

COSHOCTON – Dr. Allison Reed of Reed Family Dental has always wanted to set up shop in a small town and Coshocton is one where she has connections.

Dr. Todd Salmans retired Oct. 1 after nearly 25 years of dental practice. Reed came into his firm about a year and a half ago straight from dental school with the intentions of eventually taking over.

Salmans sent a letter to patients thanking them for their loyalty and trust.

“Long before I decided to retire, I was searching for a dentist who shares in my same ideas of caring for patients like family,” he said in the letter. “(Reed) has proven to be a caring, calm and meticulous dentist and I am impressed with her ability to treat patients with confidence and competence.”

Reed has kept all of Salman’s nine-person staff and more than 4,300 patients. She’s not looking to bring in another dentist right now, and said the practice is growing as other local dentists have recently retired or sold out to corporate dentistry chains.

“We have a ton of people coming to us, because they don’t like that corporate setting. It’s just different. … They like we’re still family owned.”

Salmans was directed to Reed by her uncle Chad Johnson, who serves on city council with Salmans’ wife, Jackie. Jackie was also Todd’s office manager and, in similar fashion, Reed’s husband, Evan, is taking on that role for her. He also works as an ICU nurse at Ohio University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. The couple married in 2018 and moved to Coshocton in early September.

Reed said Salmans was a real mentor to her and taught her a lot about the practical side of dentistry you don’t learn in a classroom. On several days, he let her do most of the work and he would monitored. Reed appreciated the faith he had in her.

“He taught me how to figure out my timing with talking to patients, getting procedures done, getting things done fast and multitasking,” Reed said. “I did a little bit of it in school, we worked in Medicaid offices, but it’s not the same situation out here. He taught me more about specific procedures.”

Reed attended Wright State University for her undergraduate degree and spent a few years teaching math and biomechanics at the college. Her interests turned to dentistry when it was suggested by her childhood dental hygienist.

“I really like the teaching aspect of it. I feel like there’s a big patient education part of it. People don’t always know what I think would be basic information, especially with habits and how dentistry works. I want them to know what’s going on in their mouth,” Reed said.

Reed grew up in Johnstown, however her parents, Ken and Rhonda Colvin, are from Coshocton and she still has a lot of family in the area. That connection and her desire to practice in a small community had her jumping at the chance to join Salmans.

“I just like it out here. It’s so much better than Columbus. In Columbus, your patients are in and out, not really trusting or super nice,” Reed said with a laugh. “Everybody out here is so much more genuine.”

And, she said, the community support has been better than she anticipated.

“They’re excited that someone else loves Coshocton as much as them,” she said.

For more information, contact Reed Family Dental at 740-622-5695 or rfdcoshocton.com. A ribbon cutting with the Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce will be at 11 a.m. Nov. 20 at Reed Family Dental, 229 S. Fourth St.

[email protected]

@llhayhurst

740-295-3417

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