Seeing double at the dentist office: Identical twin dentists relocate to Porterville

A couple of seasoned dentists are taking over the practice of  long-time established Porterville dentist Erik Wolfe — who previously had taken over his father’s practice, Dr. Stan Wolfe.

The new dentists, Elwin and Erwin Hutchins, are identical twins who have more than 60 years of experience combined.

Originally from the Sonora area, the Hutchins graduated from the Monterey Bay Academy, a private high school in Watsonville, before starting college.
“We were both looking into the medical field and liked the idea of helping people and owning our business,” Erwin said.

But since neither was interested in the late-night calls physicians are subjected to, they opted for dentistry, with Erwin being accepted into dentistry school a year ahead of Elwin, who got married and went to Argentina for a year first.

Once they both had their dental degrees from Loma Linda University, the brothers headed for the mission field — Erwin to Puerto Rico, where he stayed for 19 years; and Elwin to Trinidad and Tobago, where he worked for six years prior to joining his brother in Puerto Rico for an additional 11 and a half years. The two ran an extremely busy dental practice that was open to the public, they said.

“We feel health is the right arm of the Gospel,” Elwin said. “We believe our mission outreach can be greatly enhanced by having a medical facility.”

The pair are Seventh Day Aventists and trough the backing of their church, the brothers helped treat spiritual and dental problems, Elwin said.

Upon returning, Elwin worked in Maryland, and then in Porterville for two years, before purchasing his practice in Woodlake. Erwin returned to the area in 1999 and associated himself with several practices in the Visalia and Farmersville area.

“Then we took the leap and invested in our own practice,” Erwin said. “We incorporated and formed Hutchins Dental, Inc., in January.”

The move came after both brothers had decided to slow down their careers.

“After doing dentistry for 30-plus years each, we really were thinking of slowing down a bit but then we heard about Dr. Wolfe’s health,” Elwin said. “A dental practice can’t wait very long and we waned to help his family and his patients.”

That’s when things took a different direction.

“We weren’t really looking into taking over the practice,” Elwin said. “We approached the family about running the practice. But they made us an offer we couldn’t refuse.”

A smooth transition followed and the two brothers began practicing in Porterville on Jan. 12.
Both brothers admitted that stepping into the practice was simple, but dealing with the insurance and contract issues took more time.

“The introduction to patients was different, too,” Elwin said. “Normally the doctor leaving the practice introduces the patients to the new doctor, but we didn’t have that.”

Wolfe’s health had deteriorated at the time and there was no time for formal introductions.

“The staff here is really good. They had an excellent staff and we’re happy that we were able to maintain the staff to this practice,” Elwin said. “The patients, too, seem to be very loyal. Many of them have been here for more than 40 years.”

Mary Beard of Porterville is one of those patients.

“Mom (Mary) started coming here when Dr. Stan Wolfe was here,” Joanne McNeal said as she waited in the lobby for her mother. “She’s been with the Wolfe’s for years but was happy to make the transition to [the Hutchins.] They’ve treated us very nice. It’s been very smooth.”

The Hutchins said they will share the patient load and rotate days between the Porterville office and Elwin’s Woodlake practice, which he still has.

Erwin practices in Woodlake on Mondays and in Porterville on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Elwin is at the Porterville office on Mondays and Wednesdays and in Woodlake on Thursdays. They are both available by appointment at either location or to help with overflow. Elwin and Erwin also have their wives — Sandy Hutchins and Sonia Ortiz-Hutchins — respectively, helping them. Sonia is an assistant while Sandy is the office manager.

The brothers admitted that there is a bit of Irish temper in both of them and they might occasionally butt heads, however, being twins, they’ve developed a relationship most brothers do not have and actually get along great.

“It’s been nice working with them,” said receptionist and dental assistant Lillie Martin, who was originally with Erik Wolfe’s practice. “They are very nice and very understanding. They made it very easy [to transition] mainly because they are great people-persons and are great with the patients.”

The most challenging part, the dentists said, is letting people know that the business is open for business.

The dental office is located at 350 N. Second St. in Porterville, and new patients are being accepted. They are also accepting patients at their Woodlake office, 100 N. Palm St.
For more information call Porterville at 784-3250 or Woodlake at 564-8878.

“We’re very happy to be able to offer a full range of services. We do a lot of restorative and anesthetic type dentistry, root canal therapy, and we just completed our latest training — ‘Invisalign’ for tooth movement,” Elwin said. “It’s a wonderful practice and it’s been a big step and one I would not have done by myself, but between the two of us, it will be successful.”

Contact Esther Avila at 784-5000, Ext. 1045, or eavila@portervillerecorder.com.