10/08/2026
25. YEARS. LATER…
This morning, twenty-five years ago, I officially began my career in profession to which I had put in so much work to attain. My first wife and I had arrived in Knoxville with a two-year-old and a newborn in tow and planned on starting a new life here. I began my time with Dr. Thomas Pryse - from whom I would purchase the practice, and we were located in downtown Knoxville and Maryville. As with any practice purchase from a senior dentist, there were challenges and upgrades that immediately presented themselves. We started with computers and practice management software. The work that we put into manually entering patient records into the new system. Days when we worked a full day, grabbed dinner, and then worked until midnight. And the practice grew. A few years later, we broke ground on our building in Maryville, and for a while, that was our only location. Then I decided to add West Knoxville and even later, Morristown.
It has been a wild ride with so many peaks and valleys. And yet somewhere along the way, we became a part of the communities that we serve. There were moments when I held on for dear life thinking the practice might not make it. We had financially tough times. We had tough times with employees. We had tough times with some patients and families. But I think we’re still doing something right because in Maryville and Hardin Valley, we continue being awarded “Best Orthodontist”. I am humbled and grateful each time that happens.
Thank you to all of the patients, their families, the dental community, and our friends who have supported this practice during the last twenty-five years. All of you have been a blessing.
Of course, I didn’t do this alone. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the team members who spent time within our walls caring for our patients. When I occasionally give a lecture at the dental assisting school, I open the talk by saying, “I have a record of not being the world’s greatest employer.” It’s been an evolutionary process for me. There are team members who left who I do miss dearly. There are some who I hope I never see ever again. But everyone who worked here played an integral role in getting us to where we are today. I would be remiss in not acknowledging a few people along the way:
Missy Hedden was my office manager for the first nine years. She took a chance on a young, naive kid, took him under her wing, and together with him helped build this practice. She was my office manager, my consigliere, but most of all, she was my friend. She passed away in December 2013, and I miss her. I miss her laugh. I miss her laughing, shaking her head, and saying, “Eberting, I love you, but you just won’t do.” I was extremely lucky to find such loyalty at an early stage in my career.
Angie Miolen arrived at the practice a week before I started, and she was fresh out of dental school. She took to orthodontic assisting at a rapid pace and was my clinical right-hand person for the first five years. She could air-traffic-control the clinical area like nobody’s business as to when I should be called back to examine the patients. She also passed away in January 2018.
Shannon Crye was with me for a few years, left, got married, had kids, and then came back. She was like a sister to me. She could do everything in the clinic: chair side, lab, inventory, you name it. She was professional, kind, and caring. During her second tenure with me, she developed cancer. Having a front-row seat to witness her struggle was a difficult experience. We cried together. We hugged each other. I honestly thought she was going to beat the disease until she didn’t. Her passing left a huge void in my life. Simply put, she was just great.
Teresa Adkins was with me for only the first year, but we have stayed in touch over these last twenty-five years. Every phone call is memories and laughter.
Missy Rogers uprooted her life in West Virginia to come back to Knoxville to be my office manager after the previous one decided to leave. She had been with me for three years earlier and stayed with me until 2023. She played a huge role in managing this practice (and me) during any extremely difficult time, and I am grateful for the personal sacrifices she made to help this practice and me.
And then, there’s this current bunch of rascals, all of whom I was fortunate to have join the team during the last four years. I found myself in a two-year period when pretty much the entire team and my then-associate left. I was so fortunate to have these people find their way to me and me to them. Every day is one filled with laughter and joy, and for them and with them, I am grateful. I’m hoping we’ll stay together until the end. Kristy, Victoria, George, Nikki, Jada, Kylene, Tammy, Amalia, and Jenna, you’re all the bestest!!!
Special thanks always to my work-wife, Gresha, who I was so lucky to find in 2023. Our relationship has been one of growth and navigating some of the mess that others left behind. She has put in so much time to getting this practice to where it is for the last stretch of my career. I love her dearly.
And always, my real wife, Miss V, who came to this madness late in the game but has watched it all for the last nine years. She witnessed us pulling this practice out of a quagmire to get it where we are today. Her support and being the occasional shoulder on which I could cry has been everything for me. I love you madly, madly Madam Librarian!
My father used to have a quote that he would say at company gatherings which he attributed to C.S. Lewis, but I cannot verify that it was Lewis who actually said it. “The antidote to pride is a grateful heart. And I am grateful man.”
I am a grateful man.
- Ebs
