Advertisement

Steve Shevinsky retires from dentistry after 31 years in Ramona

Share

By Karen Brainard

After serving Ramona with dental care for 31 years, Dr. Steven Shevinsky, D.D.S., is retiring and looking forward to traveling with his wife, Lynne.

Shevinsky, a Ramona resident since 1982, started as an assistant with Dr. Walt Drexl, D.M.D, when he moved to the community. In 1989, he bought Drexl’s practice at 1530 Main St.

While Shevinsky has seen and adapted to changes and advancements in the dental field over the years, his office operations have remained constant.

“I’ve seen things go to computerization of which I did not do,” he said, pointing out his shelves of paper charts. Although he has computers at home, he never had one in his office.

“Partly because when I started we didn’t have computers,” he explained.

His receptionist/office manager of 26 years, Eileen Morris, did fine the “old-fashioned way” and never really had a need for a computer at the office, he said.

“My feeling was the computer didn’t do the dentistry. It is interesting when customers come in and see a typewriter,” Shevinsky added.

On the dentistry side, there has been more specialized work, some of which he provided and other procedures referred to specialists, he said.

“One thing that’s new is implants,” he said, pointing out they were not around when he started. “Now it’s a great option for patients. It is expensive, though.”

The Ramona dentist has never had a big staff and most who worked with him stayed for years. Many patients have been with him since he started but there has always been a flow of new patients, he said.

While Ramona now has more people and more traffic since 1982, Shevinsky said, “I think the basic feel and flavor of the town is the same.”

Originally from the Brooklyn area of New York City, Shevinsky earned his degree from New York University College of Dentistry. He and Lynne lived in Philadelphia while she was in graduate school.

They came to Ramona following family members.

“My brother-in-law came to San Diego, my in-laws came to Ramona, so that sort of paved the way,” he explained. “We felt it would be a great place to raise children.”

That they did — their daughter, Carly, and son, Benjamin, graduated from Ramona High School.

Shevinsky and his wife, who recently retired as a teacher in Santee, have no plans to leave the community, other than to travel.

“There’s a lot of places in this country we haven’t seen,” he said, adding that they would also like to travel abroad, take cruises, and try out an RV by renting one first.

“One of our goals is to go to every major league baseball park in the country,” he noted. The former Dodger fan is now a Padre fan “for better or for worse,” and he and his wife enjoy baseball.

The 63-year-old’s last day in the office was Nov. 1. He sold his practice to Dr. Rohit Keshav, D.D.S., who was set to take over on Nov. 4.

Advertisement

At a time when local news is more important than ever, support from our readers is essential. If you are able to, please support the Ramona Sentinel today.