Dr. Stephanie Chambers was a small child in her father’s office when she began to find a love of dentistry. Her work then was on stuffed animals that had teeth.

“I would pretend to be a dentist working on those,” she said, “and for the longest time that I can remember, I thought, ‘Well, this is what I'm going to do with my life. I want to be a dentist.’ I saw how much my dad loved it and how many good influences he's made. My whole life I wanted to do those things.”  

 Now she works with her father, Dr. Bill Chambers, and her husband, Dr. Paul Blackman, at Great Smiles Pediatric  Dentistry and Orthodontics. The three of them, along with other partners and associates, have grown the practice over the years. The pediatric practice was previously known as Great Beginnings, but the name changed to match the orthodontist practice.

Dr. Bill grew up with a father who was a real estate broker/builder and mother who was a homemaker. He was named for a family friend who was a dentist and played basketball for legendary coach Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina. 

In 1980 he opened his own practice and “started out with one assistant, one hygienist and one front desk person,” he said. Now there are just over 100 employees. 

His office was in the same location from 1981 to 2001 until it was moved to Yorkshire Street in Asheville when it went from a one-doctor practice to two doctors. Now there are seven doctors and locations in Asheville, North Asheville, Waynesville, Sylva, and Marion. 

“Over the years it kept growing,” Dr. Bill said. “I think it’s because we love to serve the people in Western North Carolina. I love what I do. I've done it for over 45 years, and I wouldn't do anything different.”

One tradition hasn’t changed for Dr. Bill as he snaps a photo with new patients on their first visit, even if he has to kneel down to get into the frame with a youngster. He’s been doing this for so long that he has witnessed new parents bring in their own photos with him to their kids’ appointments.

The dentists, along with the rest of the staff, have fun in the office. They have dress-up days and make humorous social media videos in costumes. They also support schools, non-profits, charities, and community partners throughout the area.

Dr. Bill’s office is filled with kid-friendly toys and trinkets and his staff is well-trained to deal with nervous patients. 

“I think you got to be a kid at heart to do this business, because you got to get down their level,” Dr. Bill said. “Sometimes, you have to get up on the level of the teenagers, as well.”

Dr. Paul, like his wife, grew up around the practice. He has multiple family members, including his father and sister, who are dentists. 

“I knew one thing for certain. I did not want to work with family,” he said. “That was my number one priority.” That changed when he met Dr. Stephanie (during residency) and was introduced to her father. “Dr. Bill, Dr. Stephanie and I think in a lot of ways, are very similar in our mindset of how we like to do things and that's what's made it really a great opportunity,” Dr. Paul said. 

Due to having multiple offices, it can be difficult for the family members to see one another at work.

“We're never really, ever in the same office, which is funny, but we work together. We have meetings a lot and discuss the business aspect of dentistry and how that works at the multi-location office level,” said Dr. Stephanie who did administrative and sterilization work at the practice as a teenager. “I think we work great together. I love it. I love being able to call my dad anytime, or talk to Paul before dinner or before bed. 'Hey, I’ve got a question for you about this patient.' It's actually really nice. It's funny, we don't talk a ton of teeth. It's more business discussions rather than dental case talk, but it's really nice.” 

“I love group practice situations,” Dr. Bill said. “Having family members involved is a lot of fun. The younger ones, they always want to learn and with 45 years of practice experience, there are things that I've done that they can obviously learn from. But I also learn from them, because a lot of things that they've learned in school or have done in their own aspect of practice I learned from as well.” 

The well-respected practice has seen considerable growth over the years and the plan isn’t to stop. The dentists want to make it easier for patients to come to them, which is why they’ve opened multiple locations.

More are planned, as there’s already a sign on Long Shoals Road in Asheville to show where a new location is expected and Dr. Bill said there’s an office in Hendersonville in the works. “Over the next two to three years,” he said, “we'll build at least one, maybe two more sites.”

 

To learn more about Great Smiles Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, check out their website: https://greatsmiles.com/