In January of this year, Virginia Gregory, DMD, made the move to rebrand her Mount Pleasant practice, changing the name of her formerly eponymous office to “Smile Carolina Dental Group.”
With degrees from both the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the Medical University of South Carolina, Dr. Gregory has served the communities in and around Charleston for more than three decades.
“My practice has always been geared toward cosmetic dentistry,” she said. “We focus on comprehensive, restorative dentistry, which is why I decided to work with Dr. Jeffery Johnson.”
Dr. Johnson, a graduate of the MUSC College of Dental Medicine, brings with him his expertise in restorative dentistry, his skill with implants for single-unit teeth or multiple units to support dentures and a surgical approach to dentistry, such as extractions. He also provides facial aesthetic procedures such as Botox and fillers.
Dr. Gregory also partnered recently with Anya Kent, DDS, a graduate of New York University College of Dentistry. Dr. Kent is Smile Carolina Dental Group’s on-staff endodontist, specializing in root canals.
Teaming up with two new doctors moved Dr. Gregory to see that a more inclusive name was in order.
“It’s kind of hard to have other practitioners here under just my name,” she said. “So I thought it was important to create a name that we could all band under. We approach our patients together, bouncing ideas off each other, taking care of our patients’ needs. If we have a patient who needs implants, Dr. Johnson takes care of that; if we have a patient who needs porcelain veneers for smile makeovers, I’ll take care of that. That’s why I like calling it a ‘dental group,’ because we all take care of the patients who come to us.”
When asked if there has been a recent uptick in demand for the new types of services now offered by her and her colleagues, Dr. Gregory replied, “A lot of women love Botox and facial fillers. Dentists are getting into those techniques because we have expertise in head, face, and neck anatomy, as well expertise in doing injections, and therefore are very good at doing these procedures. It’s really our domain; we are trained for that. A lot more dentists are providing it, and patients are demanding it.”
Dr. Gregory not only takes great pride in the other doctors she is working with, she also is a huge fan of the staff she has onboard in her office.
“The team that I have runs the office so professionally. Most of them have over 20 years of experience each. They know how to take care of the patients and take care of their doctors. We are all dedicated to excellence,” she said.
One look at Smile Carolina Dental Group’s user-friendly website will reveal an office that is as state-of-the-art as it is warm and inviting. Blankets, noise-canceling headphones, iPods and beverages are all available to further enhance every patient’s experience. The smiles on the staff’s faces make it clear that it is an environment in which one will feel right at home and welcome. For any would-be patients with concerns regarding COVID protocols, according to Dr. Gregory, “Dentists in general already have the best infection control protocols. We have to do so much for sterilization, surface decontamination and control of aerosols, so we were already way ahead of the game when COVID hit, and we have maintained those standards.”
Visit www.smilecarolinasc.com for more information on Smile Carolina Dental Group.
