Having grown up on a 650-acre ranch in rural Douglas County, life in a smaller, close-knit community was all Dr. Alanson Randol knew. Today, he exemplifies what it means to be a rural, community dentist in his practice, in his community involvement, and in his commitment to supporting the next generation of rural dentists. 

Today, Dr. Randol is a rare fifth-generation dentist, but originally, he wanted to be a medical doctor. After a few years of business and accounting classes at University of Arizona and a realization that the medical field wouldn’t offer him the work-life balance he wanted, he transferred to Oregon State University where he enrolled in general science program and got involved in a pre-dental student organization with Dr. Ken Johnson.

“I fell in love with dentistry at that point,” said Dr. Randol. “It blended the aspect of being a doctor and helping people with the business aspect of being a small business owner, which is what I had enjoyed about my business classes in the first place.”

Dr. Randol credits Dr. Johnson as being his first mentor on how to be a good clinician in the community. That mindset encouraged him to move back home to Roseburg after attending University of the Pacific’s Dental School in San Francisco and purchase a small private practice which he grew to nearly 30 employees.

“One thing that was great for me as a young dentist was the Umpqua Dental Society,” said Dr. Randol. “They did a great job mentoring and welcoming me in as a member. It gave me a really great opportunity to ask questions about what I was going through from a learning perspective.”

Dr. Randol makes every effort to continue that culture of mentorship in Roseburg, inviting new dentists in the community out to lunch and encouraging them to reach out with questions or to collaborate. 

He knows that it can be challenging to encourage young dentists to move to rural communities after dental school, which is why he worked closely with Dr. Michael Plunkett and Dr. Sean Benson to create the first preceptors program through OHSU’s School of Dentistry, which sends dental students off site to a clinic for a rotation during dental school.

“The experience gives them a good opportunity to see what the real world is like,” said Dr. Randol. The program, which started as a one-week rotation, now sends students to off-site clinics for up to eight weeks, primarily at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). It also gives students an opportunity to personally experience the benefits of working in a smaller or rural community.

“There’s a lot of opportunity in the rural areas, especially if you’re family oriented,” said Dr. Randol. “My life goals were to have a family and a job and dentistry has allowed me to do those things and have a good work-life balance.”

In addition to the work-life balance his practice offers, Dr. Randol appreciates the freedom it gives him to treat patients at no cost or half cost, if needed, without having administrative hoops to jump through like he would at a larger organization.

“Dr. Johnson said don’t ever be afraid to give something away or do something nice for the community because it comes back to you tenfold if you’re doing it for the right reasons,” said Dr. Randol, who has taken that advice to heart, giving back to his community in a multitude of ways throughout his career.

One of the first charitable dental programs Dr. Randol was involved in was Donated Dental Day in Roseburg, where a handful of local dentists worked together to treat patients who couldn’t afford dental care. The program eventually ended because many of those patients now receive access to care through the Oregon Health Plan, but it provided a framework for Dr. Randol’s latest community dental program, Freedom Smiles Day.

“Roseburg has a large VA hospital and a large veteran population, but unless the veterans are 100% disabled, the VA doesn’t cover their dental work and we saw that a lot of veterans were having difficulty getting their dental work done,” said Dr. Randol, who worked with veteran’s organizations and other local dental providers to start Freedom Smiles Day. 

The annual event is held around Veteran’s Day and allows dentists like Dr. Randol to treat veterans’ dental needs for free. A local lab even donates crowns or dentures when the need arises. 

“We do everything from extractions to root canals,” said Dr. Randol. “It’s been a really great event over the years.”

In addition to Freedom Smiles Day, Dr. Randol is deeply involved in his community through athletics, serving as the team dentist for the Umpqua Community College Athletic Department and as a youth sports coach. 

Whether he is welcoming new dentists to town, offering free dental care to veterans, or treating his seventh-grade art teacher, Dr. Randol is a prime example of what it means to be a true community dentist, meeting the dental needs of his community while also living and working alongside them.