History
Around the middle of 1935, Dr. Agustín Arango returned to Panama after having obtained his title of "Doctor of Dental Surgery" from Georgetown University, and opened his first dental clinic in the Bendetti Building, which was located in the “Casco Viejo” of the City. He attended his first patient on August 1st. of that year.
Due to his dedication and sense of responsibility, Dr. Arango’s reputation became widely known thanks to the testimony patients gave about his services. As the amount of patients increased, there was soon the need to move the clinic to a more comfortable and larger space. In 1938, he established the clinic in Plaza de Arango (formerly known as Plaza de la Lotería, or the “Lottery Square”), and then in 1943 moved to the clinic which was built with that same purpose in mind by Dr. Abraham de Castro, on the corner of Justo Arosemena Avenue and 39th. Street.
With the return to Panama of Dr. Raúl Orillac in 1960, after having finished his specialization in Orthodontics, these two professionals become partners and turning the Arango Clinic into the Arango Orillac Clinic. The clinic is then set up on the site of Dr. Arango’s remodeled residence, which was on the intersection of 33rd. Street and Balboa Avenue.
As other renowned Dentist joined the clinic, it was marked by a period of more accelerated growth. The first ones were Dr. Jorge Arango (joined in 1967), a specialist in Orthodontics from the University of Oregon, and Dr. Ricardo Arango (joined 1969), who specialized in Oral Rehabilitation at the University of Georgetown. Dr. Graciela Broce de Quezada, dedicated to General Dentistry and teaching at the University of Panama, was incorporated into the group in 1979. Dr. Fernando Boyd, who graduated with a specialty in Periodontics from the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Graciela de Boyd who specialized in pediatric dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania, then followed in 1981. The following year, Dr. Enrique Quiroz joined the clinic, specializing in maxillofacial surgery. In 1983, Dr. Fernando Orillac became a member of the team with a specialty in Orthodontics from the University of Oregon.
A special mention is made to Dr. Octavio Medina, a general Dentist of vast clinical experience, who joined the group in September of 1983, after having practiced his profession with notorious success in his own private clinic, for a period of 18 years.
On that same year, the new headquarters of the Arango Orillac Clinic are inaugurated on 54th. Street in Obarrio, counting with the most modern facilities in order to provide all odontological treatments in one same location. Five years later, in 1988, Dr. Eduardo Cabaleiro is incorporated into the group.
Dr. Roberto Sánchez, who specialized in Oral Rehabilitation at the Medical College of Georgia and Maxilofacial Prostheties at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, became part of the Arango Orillac Clinic in 1992. He was followed by Dr. Jacqueline Orillac de Gomez in 1993, with a specialty in Orthodontics from the University of Pennsylvania, and by Dr. Carlos Medina in 2002, with a specialty in General Odontology from the University of Maryland. Then in the last years, Dr. Thais Barboni, a pediatric specialist from the University of Puerto Rico, Dr. Priscilla Arosemena, Endodontics specialist from the University of San Luis Potosí, and Dr. Mila Prado, pediatric specialist from the Latino Americana University, have joined the team of dedicated professionals of the Clinic.
In 1993, the Arango Orillac clinic opened a branch in the old railroad station of Balboa, with the objective of being able to offer its high quality services to the residents of the Canal zone. This clinic was moved to the Albrook Plaza in the year 2000, where it currently still operates.