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Dentist restoring historic Wrentham home that houses his practice
WRENTHAM - Dr. Ross Palioca's dental practice is old-fashioned. The personal care is old-fashioned, and so is the homey feeling of the office. And then there's the house on the Wrentham Common that hosts the practice. The East Street house, with its Colonial-style gate in a stone fence and large central chimney, is beyond old-fashioned. It's positively antique, dating back to somewhere around 1790.
“Originally this property was given to a blacksmith in the 1600’s because this was the halfway point from Boston to Providence and they needed a blacksmith who could fix problems when people came through,” he said
Palioca became the latest owner of the property when he bought the house, and the practice, from Dr. John Lockwood in 1985 after working with Lockwood there for three years. Lockwood began the practice there in 1964. The records are sketchy, but Palioca says documents that do exist point to the house being built by a French nobleman count Louis Cornette, a colonel who came to settle in Wrentham and is now encased in the only raised tomb in the cemetery that stretches out behind the property.
That's where the old fashioned stops and the modern begins. Renovations, which also involved the addition of the cutting-edge dental technology necessary to meet the demands of a growing list of patients, included uncovering and refurbishing wood paneling and the mantle around the house's enormous central chimney - a point of pride for Palioca. Palioca worked on some painting and wallpapering, with the help of his wife Lisa and her keen taste in paint colors and wallpaper. But the heavier refurbishing work fell to professionals. "We had digital computerization, digital cameras, digital X-rays. Everything's been networked," said Palioca, recently giving a tour of his practice. "The chairs and all that are basically brand new."
It's all the end result of a six-month project to bring new life to an historical centerpiece in the town while ensuring that patients are given the best care that modern technology can offer - a perfect meshing of past and present. "What I've tried to do is blend the old with the new dentistry." Palioca said. "I like the home feeling. I still believe in dentistry being done person¬ally.„
It seems that having the very best is a tradition at this address. But that should come as no wonder when one considers who is supposedly responsi¬ble for the house's construction. The renovations have allowed Palioca both to preserve a piece of Wrentham history and to update and expand his practice. If the town had not allowed the work, Palioca said he wouldn't have been able to stay in the old house he loves so much.
For his part, Palioca is pleased to have been able to give the care to the house that it deserves. "It is very interesting and it's a centerpiece in town," he said. "I like it because it predates all of the Victorians. It has quaintness to it. And people really seem to appreciate it - that modernizing the old rather than losing the taste of our past. Palioca is proud of his office, the place that it was and the place that it's become He beams with pride as he gives visitors a tour, pointing out the work that's been done and the history that it encompasses. "I love this place," he said.