At the heart of Southern Smiles Dental are Dr. Kelly Guthrie and her passionate team members, who not only love what they do, but also the patients they serve.
Dr. Guthrie is a second-generation dentist with more than 24 years in the field.
"Dentistry is my passion, and it has given me a purpose in my life,” she said. “Growing up with my father a dentist and mentor gave me a front row seat at how taking care of patients should be.”
Southern Smiles Dental was founded on strong core values, including honesty, integrity, quality, respect, compassion and affordability.
“My mission is to continue to build long-lasting relationships by exceeding patients' expectations, to create value for dentistry through education and to enhance patients' lives, based upon those core values,” Dr. Guthrie said. “The only way that this mission can be accomplished is by recruiting team members who share the same passion and core values."
Kim Hale, a registered dental hygienist, leads our preventive dentistry department. Kim is a highly respected member of the dental hygiene community. With more than 25 years of experience, she is making an enormous impact on our patients by providing routine cleanings (dental prophylaxis), dental sealants, fluoride applications and periodontal deep cleanings. She also teaches patients oral hygiene strategies for use at home.
“I am so blessed to be working alongside Kim,” Dr. Guthrie said. “Her commitment to her patients is amazing. It is frequently that a patient will share with me that Kim delivers the best dental cleaning that they have ever experienced … I can attest to this, as she is my personal dental hygienist as well. She is thorough, gentle and informative, not to mention a beautiful human being, inside and out.”
In addition to preventive dentistry, Dr. Guthrie provides a full range of comprehensive dental services, including fillings, whitening, veneers, crowns and bridges, full mouth rehabilitation, sleep apnea appliances, extractions, removable dentures and partials, and implant restorations. She also provides an All-on-Four fixed hybrid denture option for patients who cannot tolerate traditional removable dentures.
Southern Smiles Dental sees a range of patients, from those who love to visit the dentist to have their teeth cleaned as often as possible to those who avoid the dentist until they experience pain or discomfort. With that said, Dr. Guthrie and Kim strive to provide a caring, gentle, nonjudgmental approach to their help patients feel at ease.
With the COVID-19 outbreak, Southern Smiles Dental has increased personal protective equipment and enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols. Each patient is subject to a health screening prior to being seen, and each staff member has daily health screenings.
“It may be tempting to postpone regular checkups until things return to 'normal.' However, we don't recommend it,” Dr. Guthrie continued. "Routine dental checkups and cleanings give us the opportunity to detect oral health conditions early. Some conditions, such as infections, tooth decay and oral cancer can be more difficult to treat if undetected.”
Dr. Guthrie and her passionate team truly care about their patients' needs and treat each patient with kindness, respect, and understanding. They are always welcoming new patients and take the time to get to know each one. “My hope is that Southern Smiles Dental is a place where people come in as patients and leave as friends.”
