About

The story starts in 1947, when my dad returned home from WWII after serving five years in the US Army. He had served as the dental surgeon in a 5th Army field hospital, finding himself in the thick of action in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy.

Originally slated to be transferred to the Pacific for the invasion of the Japanese mainland, the war ended in late summer 1945 with the US Army using the A-Bomb. My dad’s unit was redeployed to Greece to aid in the effort to bring stability to Europe as the cold war started to take shape.

A native-born Philadelphian, my dad, Hy Freedman, decided after his return to move out to the country. In those days, the country was “Roslyn”. He picked 1260 Easton Road because the original civic plans called for a major train station to be where Rite Aid is today. He opened a private practice in this county town and settled into a simple life for several years.

Meanwhile, in Brighton Beach, NY (Coney Island), where Hy’s parents (my grandparents) lived, my grandmother, while at her doctor’s, was taken by an attractive brunette. When asked if she was single, Ruth Solomoff said yes, and my grandmother said… you have to meet my son, the doctor. Their first date (chaperoned!) was in March. They got engaged in May, married in June, and I came along the following April (10 months for those of you counting).

I attended Roslyn Elementary School and graduated from Abington High School. I always wanted to be some sort of doctor. My academic studies were always in science, and I loved working with my hands. Until age 17, I figured I wanted to be a surgeon, but then it occurred to me that I wouldn’t be able to emotionally handle the passing of a patient, so I gathered my thoughts. What could I do that was medical, used my hand skills, and didn’t involve death….. The answer was a Dentist.

While my dad knew that I was going to be a dentist, he died suddenly in the middle of my first year of dental school (Temple). My friends and family called me to keep me on track. I know my dad would have wanted me to keep focused on school. I successfully completed dental school and decided I needed more experience. I found work in several places over the next two years, including Lehigh County Prison, where I met a tall, beautiful redhead who turned out to be my future wife (not an inmate, she ran work release!)

I gutted my dad’s old office and reopened it in the spring of 1980 with one treatment room. In 1983, I added a second treatment room. In 1985, a third treatment room, and finally, in 1990, I gutted the entire building to its present configuration.

1990 to 2010 brought a lot of changes to the world of technology and dentistry. So, in the spring of 2010, I once again invested in the latest technology to create a true 21st-century dental office.

In the summer of 1988, a new dental school graduate, looking for part-time work while he completed school to specialize in Periodontal Implants, walked into my office. I was busy, my second son had just been born, and my mom said he seemed like a nice young man. We talked awhile, and I found him to be pleasant, but when he told me he had attended the same high school as my wife, it was a done deal. Dr. Gradwell and I have been working together since 1988 and specifically with advanced periodontal care and implants since 1990.

So that’s how I got started here and how and why the office looks and feels like it does. We have a page where you can learn more about me, Dr. Gradwell, and all my staff. We are all highly educated, highly motivated individuals who put your dental care and well-being first. I have plenty more stories…. Just ask at your next appointment, and I’ll be happy to share.