It is such a joy to finally be the business owner of my own orthodontic practice in Lee’s Summit. I thought it would be fun to share a little bit of the back-story and preparation that preceded the inception of Grady Orthodontics. Here I will discuss my journey to becoming a dentist. 

From a young age I knew I wanted to be involved in the medical field. I saw the incredible ability of dentists and physicians to take people out of pain and heal their bodies. I knew that was a skill I wanted to learn in order to help others. This was cemented when I took an anatomy class in high school taught by an orthopedic surgeon. He gave us the firsthand account of what it was like to cut someone’s body open and restore their natural bodily processes with the correct form and function. We even got to dissect a real human arm and leg! I left high school confident I wanted to be involved in healthcare. 

Two encounters pointed me specifically into the dental field. The first happened as a young kid. My younger sister and I were riding our four-wheeler and racing cars along side the road in our yard. Without warning, I accidentally rode too close to guy wires stretching down from the utility pole in my yard. I ducked just in time but my sister got knocked off the four-wheeler as the wire struck her mouth. Her mouth was gushing blood and my father rushed over. He called our pediatric dentist who immediately met them at her clinic on a weekend in order to splint her teeth and reassure my parents that she was going to be ok. Although this remained a traumatic experience for me, I was amazed at the way Dr. Beauchamp was able to take care of my sister and restore her dental health.

The second dental road sign occurred after my first year of college. I was still teetering between dental and medical school. As I was working at a Christian youth summer camp for Young Life, I started praying that God would write my destiny on the wall and make my decision easy. I quickly found out that God usually has different plans than what we want and expect. During the camp, I got hit in the face with a metal bucket, chipping off half of my front tooth. I was then taken by my summer staff coordinator to the nearest dental office 2 hours away in Bend, Oregon. Here once again I got to witness a dentist take me out of discomfort and artistically restore my missing tooth. She walked me through the entire procedure and removed my anxiety and deepened my interest in the profession.

I returned to Austin Peay State University after that summer with a determination to pursue dental school. I worked hard to achieve a 4.0 in college and earn a high DAT score in order to put myself in a good position to receive admission to an excellent dental school. After interviewing at multiple schools, I decided on the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. After living my entire life in Tennessee, I packed up and moved across the country to pursue my dental career.

Stay tuned for my next blog post where I speak about my dental school journey and decision to pursue orthodontics!