Dentist’s Office A Lighthouse Fantasy For Kids
By Sue Clark on Oct 15, 2007 in News 
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Most kids do not look forward to a trip to the dentist, but kids in Port Arthur, Texas, actually cry when they have to go home. That’s because their dentist, George Scott, DDS has turned his office, the Dental Dock, into a nautical fantasy, complete with a lighthouse at the entrance to the clinic. The clinic, designed by Beaumont architect Dohn LaBiche, features a fifty foot lighthouse at the entrance. It is so unusual, it has been featured on the cover of the September/October issue of Design Cost Data Magazine, a builder’s trade publication based in Florida.
According to the story, Labiche said designing the clinic was child’s play, sort of. But designing a lighthouse wasn’t as easy as it seemed at first. “I’d never even thought about how to frame a lighthouse before,” LaBiche said. “That was probably one of the biggest challenges.” It came with a steep price tag, though, which wasn’t revealed in the story.
“I think that overall, architects love getting a project like this to do because it lets you be a kid again,” he said. “All the gloves are off.
“Imagination is the only obstacle you face. If you want to make a receptionist’s desk that looks like a boat, you make a receptionist’s desk that looks like a boat.”
Scott is one of two pediatric dentists in the region and he said he wanted to give back to the children he’s been “blessed to serve.” Besides the nautical motif, he has built in video games and flat screen televisions embedded in the ceiling for kids to enjoy. Dental Dock has become a local landmark, with drivers stopping and looking when they come across a lighthouse sitting where no water exists.
On a side note, Dr. Scott moved into his new clinic a couple of months before Hurricane Rita struck the region. And like most of our lighthouses, it survived with very little damage.
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