Meet Dr. Jon. He Grew Up Choosing This.
Dr. Jon Wheeler grew up in Whitehouse, Texas, went to Texas A&M, then Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas. He did his residency at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital and Children's Medical Center, spent two years in Alaska with his wife, and then came back to Texas. He has been in The Woodlands since 2004, which means he was here before Market Street was finished.
He will tell you that dentistry hit him like a lightning bolt his sophomore year of college. He spent Christmas break of that year visiting every dentist in Tyler who would open the door. That kind of intentionality has defined everything since.
He Chose Kids on Purpose.
Dr. Jon was not a general dentist who drifted toward pediatrics. He chose it deliberately, and the reason goes beyond the size of the teeth.
"There are some technical differences between primary and adult teeth. But more importantly we have two goals for every patient," he says. "The first is, when their parents get the reminder that it's time to go to the dentist, that there is no anxiety in their household. If anything, we want them bugging their parents because they actually want to go. The second is, when they leave home for good, they keep going to the dentist because nobody has given them a reason not to."
Twenty-plus years later, he has patients who are now bringing their own children to see him. That is the goal made real.
Anyone Can Have a TV on the Ceiling.
Wheeler Pediatric Dentistry has TVs mounted to the ceiling over every chair. Dr. Jon has the best sock collection in The Woodlands, and yes, he sings while he works. Kids notice. They remember it. They come back.
But Dr. Jon is quick to point out that equipment and aesthetics are not the differentiator. "Anyone can have that," he says. "What sets us apart is our culture and our attitude. We know that being a parent is very hard, and taking your kids to the dentist can be a very stressful event. We don't want it to be. We try to make everything easy. We run on time. Everyone has past experiences that affect the way they think about the dentist. We listen and try to make things simple."
Parents are invited into the treatment area for every appointment. No waiting in the lobby. No wondering what is happening. You are part of the visit.
He Has Watched This Community Grow Up.
Dr. Jon loves The Woodlands. He will tell you it was an obvious choice for his family, for the schools, the people, and what it has become. He watched the mall open. He watched Market Street get built. He watched Hughes Landing come to life. He has been here through all of it.
"When I first considered this career, I knew it would be fun to joke around with kids and their parents and make a historically difficult situation fun. But over the years I have realized that the real fun is watching these kids grow up, watching what they achieve in life. I've learned so much from the parents who have come in regards to raising kids, sending them off to college. I've been here so long that I have former patients who are bringing their kids in now."
He also takes genuine pride in what his team accomplishes with children with developmental delays. "That's a really big deal to us," he says. It shows.
Credentials
- Doctor of Dental Surgery, Baylor College of Dentistry (Texas A&M College of Dentistry)
- Residency, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital and Children's Medical Center, Dallas
- Board-Certified, American Board of Pediatric Dentistry
- 1st Place, Best Pediatric Dentist by the readers of Woodlands Online every year. Dr. Jon has been a Woodlands Online reader favorite since the very first poll in 2009.
- 20-plus years in The Woodlands
