Dr. Lee Welky Takes The Ice Again





Dr. Lee Welky found a way to combine his profession and his favorite sport.

Dr. Lee Welky found a way to combine his profession and his favorite sport.

Estero — Growing up in Boston, Lee Welky loved playing hockey. But it can be a tough game and, like many hockey players, it cost the youngster a few teeth, and a few more when he played for his college team at Brown University.

It got to the point, he says, that his mother couldn’t watch. His dentist had another idea. “He suggested I consider a dental career,” Welky recently recalled.

It’s an idea that stuck.

Dr. Welky, who recently opened a new office on US 41, had a distinguished career as a Naval dentist, rising to the rank of Lt. Commander, and received graduate dental training at Bethesda Naval Hospital in the Washington D.C. area.

When Navy days were over, Welky moved to the “spring break capital” of his college days, southwest Florida.

“I found Bonita Springs,” he said, “and we stayed.” He has practiced dentistry in the area for over 14 years.

Welky also found a way to combine his profession and his favorite sport. Since 2006 he has served as team dentist to the Florida Everblades hockey team. He attends all Everblades home games.

The Everblades have him on call for emergencies…like the time he got a call when the team was flying back from an out of town game. A player had been hit in the mouth with a hockey stick, and was bleeding on the plane ride home.

After two and a half hours of emergency surgery by Welky and his assistants, the player was good to go – good enough to play in the team’s championship series.

Welky recently reopened his local practice after a hiatus. He and his wife enjoy travel and had taken some time for cruises to favorite foreign locations. But, when back home, his life-long profession beckoned. He kept bumping into former patients who said they missed him, and the feeling was mutual.

His spanking new office, located at The Shoppes of Estero, is decorated in blues and greens, with soothing music. Technologically totally Apple, patients register with iPads synced to a chartless system. Digital Panorex imaging identifies issues and structures that a typical x-ray doesn’t. A 360-degree view of the teeth, sinuses and bones provides a screen view for patient planning.

Welky and his team are excited to be back. He treats all ages and offers all phases of dentistry, leaving braces for the orthodontist. “My goal is,” he says, “to always provide the best, comprehensive, ethical patient care.” Dr. Welky can be reached at (239) 949-8282. His website is drwelky.com

Amidst a busy schedule, Welky still makes time for other activities.

You can also find him on ice at Germain Arena – playing, in a men’s league, the game his mom could not bear to watch.


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