Photography: Robin Jerstad

Given the ever-rising costs of health care, many medical providers are taking a “total care” approach with their patients.

The concept of total care or total health care management involves not only treating the symptoms, but also addressing prevention and wellness.

This approach has proven successful, and has targeted both adults and the elderly. However, few – if any – providers have used this approach with children.

Enter Practical Approach Pediatrics and Pediatric Dentistry, a total care pediatric clinic caring for children ages 0 to 21 years. Located in the Medical Center area of San Antonio, Practical Approach Pediatrics and Pediatric Dentistry is dedicated to providing patients and parents with a unique and comprehensive health care service, encompassing full-service pediatric medicine and dentistry.

Surprisingly, this is San Antonio’s first-of-its-type total health care provider dedicated to children. Even more surprising is the tremendous story of its founders, Drs. Olutola and Omolola Adetona.

Upon first meeting the Adetonas, one is immediately impressed with their warm demeanor. Olutola, who serves as the pediatrician, met his wife, Omolola, the pediatric dentist, in their homeland of Nigeria.

They both graduated from their respective medical and dental schools in Nigeria (Olutola at the University of Ibadan College of Medicine, and Omolola at the College of Medicine University of Lagos), and ultimately both spent one-year internships at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, also in Nigeria.

In 1998, about three weeks after the two got married, they moved to Houston, Texas, where they decided to pursue their medical careers. Although they had completed their medical training and schooling in Nigeria, neither of them was able to get licensed in the United States.

In order to practice, they would both need to attend additional school, take their board exam and go through residencies. Driven by a deep faith in God and a shared vision for their lives, they amazingly did just that.

During that time, although both were licensed doctors in Nigeria, Olutola worked as a driver for a private school bus company during the day and as a medical assistant at a multi-specialty clinic at night in order to make ends meet, while Omolola worked as a dental assistant in a pediatric dentistry office.

Although the job was only supposed to last one summer, Omolola eventually worked as a dental assistant for four years. During this time, their daughter, Teniade, was born.

It was Omolola’s time as a dental assistant that led to her interest in pediatric dentistry, which eventually led to her acceptance to the pediatric dentistry program at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio (UTHSCSA) in 2002. The family moved to San Antonio so Omolola could begin her residency, while Olutola studied for his exams.

As Omolola neared the end of her residency, Olutola got accepted into the pediatric medicine program at UTHSCSA. In 2004, when Omolola graduated, Olutola began his residency.

As the future looked more and more promising for the young couple, disaster struck when Olutola, only four months into his residency, suffered a horrible motorcycle accident, which nearly cost him his life.

“I had recently accepted a faculty position at UTHSCSA, was pursuing a fellowship in forensic dentistry and [was] expecting our second child when this happened,” Omolola says. “We had student loans piling up, bills needed to be paid, one child here and one on the way. I truly believe it was our faith in God that carried us through that difficult period.”

Olutola was out from October 2004 to February 2005, and had a total of five surgeries. Missing five months of his residency was as big a challenge as recovering from his accident, but he managed.

Olutola’s third year of residency took place at Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi, which resulted in his commuting back-and-forth from San Antonio. During his residency, their son, Adelani, was born.

Upon completion of his residency, Olutola was offered a faculty position at Driscoll and worked as an attending physician in the pediatric emergency room. He continued commuting from San Antonio to Corpus Christi until 2009, when he accepted a position as attending physician at North Central Baptist Children’s Emergency Room. During that time, Omolola was working as an associate pediatric dentist in private practice (from 2008 until 2011).

During their time in Houston, the Adetonas had a vision to open a model practice that would attend to the total health of a child. Given their collective experience, they envisioned opening a practice that would feature both pediatric medicine and pediatric dentistry in one office.

In 2011, through lots of adversity, but even more faith, they opened Practical Approach Pediatrics and Pediatric Dentistry, the first and only practice of its type in San Antonio. You register into the practice, not just with the physician.

According to Olutola, everything they did from 1998 until the present was to achieve their vision of opening the practice.

“We envisioned a practice model that would afford the patient and parent more convenience and more flexibility in managing their care,” Olutola says. “We are able to provide less time for parents to be outside of work, less travel and much more convenience.”

The husband-and-wife physicians smile as they admit they both work well together, including sharing the same office. “It’s like leaving home and coming home,” Omolola says. “We know our strengths, and there is no tussle in working together.”

Practical Approach Pediatrics and Pediatric Dentistry is a truly unique practice in which patients register with the practice, not with a specific doctor. The office also coordinates care among various specialists to whom patients may be referred.

Due to Olutola’s background in emergency medicine, they can perform more services than a standard office. Also, thanks to their combined training, experience and resources, they are confident in their ability to provide total care. The office features an in-house orthodontist, and some days, patients can literally see three specialists in the same office.

An investment in state-of-the-art technology enables great communication between various aspects of the office. And the Adetonas have plans to expand their offices to complement existing services such as the planned addition of X-ray services and additional exam rooms. They will also look to bring in additional associates in the future.

The Adetonas have been married since 1998, and are most proud of their two children. As a family, they enjoy spending time together on road trips, and they love outdoor activities. Their faith in God and salvation through Christ, however, is the characteristic they believe defines them the most.

In addition to their faith, they both credit their parents with their values and the ability not only to dream, but to realize their dreams. The last surviving parent, Omolola’s mother, lives in Nigeria.

Both Olutola and Omolola feel particularly blessed because along their journey, they have had “godsends” who always seemed to appear at the right time. These include both mentors and friends, as well as their wonderful and hardworking staff members, who they feel share in their collective vision.

According to Olutola, “Our staff is reliable, dependable and consistently go above and beyond for both our patients and the practice.”

The Adetonas live by the same quotation, which they credit, along with their faith, with helping them overcome obstacles and get through rough times.

“An obstacle is what you see when you take your eyes off the goal.”

Given their tremendous strength and resilience, don’t expect them to take their eyes off the goal anytime soon.

Practical Approach Pediatrics and Pediatric Dentistry is located at 9480 Huebner Road, Ste. 400. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call 210-697-3900, or visit the website at www.practicalapproachpediatrics.com.