EP# 288: Meet The Motorcycle-Loving Dentist: Dr. Turner and Gray Station Dental

What makes Dr. Richard Turner with Gray Station Dental a good neighbor?

Ever wondered what happens when a small-town Kentucky native with a passion for motorcycles and guitars becomes a dentist? Dr. Richard Turner's journey to founding Gray Station Dental reveals how an offhand comment from a college professor—"You're constantly working with your hands... you realize that's what dentists do, don't you?"—can change the trajectory of someone's life.

Since establishing his practice in 2007, Dr. Turner has transformed what he describes as once-sleepy Gray, Tennessee into a destination for cutting-edge dental care. The conversation reveals his dedication to bringing metropolitan-level dental technology to a small community, including 3D x-rays, CEREC same-day crowns, scanners, and lasers. "One thing people don't expect right here in Gray is we have all the latest dental technology," Turner explains, highlighting how his education taught him not just dentistry, but "how to learn"—a philosophy that drives his continuous professional development.

The interview takes a fascinating turn when Turner discusses his motorcycle-themed office, complete with an actual bike in the waiting room, reflecting his personal interests beyond dentistry. He thoughtfully addresses common dental misconceptions, emphasizing that oral health affects the entire body—from heart health to pregnancy outcomes—and that pain-free doesn't necessarily mean problem-free. His perspective is shaped by his upbringing in a tiny eastern Kentucky coal town of just 150 people, where he witnessed the struggles of drug addiction and limited opportunities before teachers in his family encouraged him to seek education as an escape. This background perhaps explains his mission to bring exceptional healthcare to his adopted community.

Ready to experience a dental practice that combines advanced technology with personal touches? Visit Gray Station Dental's website at www.graystationdental.com or call 423-926-5000 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Turner and his team of dental professionals.

To learn more about Gray Station Dental go to:

https://www.graystationdental.com/

Gray Station Dental

423.926.5000

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Skip Monty.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor
Podcast of the Tri-Cities.
So I am really excited today tohave a very special guest in
our studio for the first timeand if, in case you're in need
of dental assistance, one mightbe closer than you think,
because today I have thepleasure of introducing your

(00:32):
good neighbor, mr Richard Turner, who is the owner operator of
Gray Station Dental.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Richard, welcome to the show, thank you Glad to be
here, appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Well, we're glad to have you and, like I said, very
anxious to hear all about youand what you do.
And so, if you don't mind, whydon't you kick us off by telling
us about your practice?

Speaker 3 (00:52):
Well, we're located right in the heart of Gray, so
which was once kind of a sleepylittle area between Kingsport
and John City, of course, andnow it's booming.
It's growing like crazy betweenKingsport and Johnson City, of
course, and now it's booming.
It's growing like crazy.
So one thing people don'texpect right here in Gray is we
have all the latest dentaltechnology.

(01:13):
We have 3D x-rays and CEREC,same-day crowns, scanners,
lasers we kind of do it all ingeneral dentistry.
So I think people would besurprised to know that we have
that right here in Gray.
I opened the practice in 2007,.
Cold, didn't buy a practice,just opened up.

(01:34):
Cold, turned the shingle andhoped for the best and have been
building it ever since.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
Very good, Now are you originally from Gray?

Speaker 3 (01:43):
I'm not.
I'm from eastern Kentucky, alittle town in the middle of
nowhere in eastern Kentucky,coalfields.
It's a little town calledMaytown or Langley in eastern
Kentucky.
The population was never.
It was generally around 150people.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Wow, now, that is a little town, little town.
Wow, well, 2007,.
You're coming up on 20 years.
I am.
That's awesome, nothing tosneeze at, dude 20 years.

Speaker 3 (02:14):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
Well, how did you get into the dental business?

Speaker 3 (02:19):
So when I was an undergrad, I always loved
biology and chemistry.
When I needed to make my GPAlook great, I would just go take
biology or chemistry classes,which should have been an
obvious thing.
Oh, you should go intosomething like that, but it
wasn't to me.

(02:39):
I had a professor that said,probably my fourth year of
school, I was in an advancedmicrobiology class and he said
Turner, what are you going to dowith your life?
And I said, doctor, I don'tknow.
I'm trying to figure this out.
And he said and you know, I'dknown him for years at this

(03:00):
point because I'd taken allthese biology classes and he
said you know, you're constantlyworking with your hands, you
fix things constantly.
You realize that's whatdentists do, don't you?
And I said well, I never reallythought about that, and that's
how it all began.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
Wow, Wow, that's uh.
Yeah, I would think it's.
Oh, you need to be a mechanic.

Speaker 3 (03:23):
I guess a mouth mechanic.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
Yeah, there you go there you go.
So in the dental industry.
Are there any myths ormisconceptions that come to mind
?

Speaker 3 (03:33):
There are a lot.
One thing people think ifnothing hurts, I really don't
need to go see a dentist.
But you could have cavitiesthat are sneaking up on you, gum
disease, oral cancers.
You could have cavities thatare sneaking up on you, gum
disease, oral cancers.

(03:53):
Lots of things can start earlyand be caught before they get
out of hand.
Oral cancers are just scary.
They scare me.
That's one of the things.
People think that brushingtheir teeth harder means cleaner
, and it really doesn't.
You need to be thorough butgentle.
So sometimes people think thatbaby teeth don't matter.

(04:19):
Um, they'll think, well, I'lllet you know.
Little johnny or whatever histeeth it's fine, uh, but it's
not.
Those baby teeth hold spacesfor the permanent teeth, so you
need to take care of those.
Lots of little things like that.
Really, dentistry is a wholebody thing, it's not just the
mouth right, right.

Speaker 2 (04:36):
Well, I know if you don't take care of your teeth it
can lead to a lot.
You know the large healthissues with your heart, lungs
probably, probably, it does.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
It's your whole body.
It's low birth weights.
It's linked to so manydifferent things.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
Wow.
Well, if you have any time onthe side besides work, what do
you like to do for fun?

Speaker 3 (05:04):
Well, I beat on guitars a little here and there.
It's Sounds horrible.
It sounds a lot like catscreeching, but I try, they look
really cool behind you there.
Yeah, thanks, and I love towork on and ride motorcycles so

(05:28):
those are kind of my things I doand, oddly enough, my entire
office is motorcycle themed,like the waiting room.
There's a motorcycle in thewaiting room of the office.

Speaker 2 (05:38):
Oh wow, that is cool.
That is very cool.
I used to have a barber whoplayed guitar and his whole shop
was decorated with guitars andhad a guitar set out with an
amplifier hooked up that youcould just walk in and play
while you're waiting to get ahaircut.
Man the first time I ever firsttime I walked in there I
thought, okay, this is my barber.

Speaker 3 (05:59):
Yeah, I love it.
Yeah, that's one of the thingsthat worries me is a very
masculine office and I'm afraid,you know, maybe I probably need
a little more femininedecorations.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
But Get you a pink bike.

Speaker 3 (06:13):
I'll tell you.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
Maybe, maybe not.
Maybe, Well, let's switch gearsfor just a second.
Richard, can you describe ahardship or a life challenge
that you've overcome and how itmade you stronger coming out the
other side?

Speaker 3 (06:30):
You know, yes, I was lucky in that my mom, dad, dad
and both grandmothers were allteachers.
That being said, my parentswere divorced.
My grandmother raised me, but Isaw a lot of really hard things
happen.
You know, these small, smalllittle eastern kentucky towns.

(06:50):
There's drug abuse, drugaddictions.
There were lots of problemswith the area, lots of issues
that you could fall into.
Luckily, because of my family,I didn't.
They told me my whole life toescape that area.

(07:13):
I guess I did.
Now, when I go back, I see whatthey meant and why.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (07:22):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (07:23):
So it's still going on, it is.

Speaker 3 (07:26):
Wow, still going on.

Speaker 2 (07:29):
Wow.
Well, if, richard, if you couldthink of one thing that you
would like our listeners toremember about you and about
your dental practice.
Besides having a motorcyclegreeting you in the front door,
which I will not forget, whatelse would you like for them to

(07:49):
remember?

Speaker 3 (07:52):
Just that, even though we're in the heart of
grade great, that we do have thelatest of all technologies.
One of the concepts dentalschool taught me I was lucky,
went to a really good schoolwhich University of Louisville
and they teach you how to learn.
So when you graduate dentalschool, you don't know

(08:13):
everything there is in dentistry.
You're not suddenly thegreatest dentist in the world.
They have taught you how tolearn.
So constant C courses, constantlearning, is the key.
And yeah, and that's what we do.
We have myself another dentist,three hygienists, three

(08:34):
assistants, two front desk folks, so we're a good size office
that can accommodate most issuesawesome with all the latest
equipment too all the latestequipment dude very good in
motorcycles

Speaker 2 (08:49):
I'm sorry, in motorcycles and motorcycles
absolutely well that's.
That's just the cool factor.
I'm sure kids love coming in tosee that.

Speaker 3 (08:57):
I hope so.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah, I'm sure they do, Because you know, I'm sure
when I was a kid I dreaded goingto the dentist, because for me,
a misconception is that everytime you go to the dentist it's
going to be painful and that'snot the case.
That is not the case.

Speaker 3 (09:11):
I think a lot of people you know, maybe 50 years
ago things might have been alittle different in dentistry,
but I think people see us sortof as the dentist from the
little shop of horrors, steveMartin's character, as the you
know, the masochist.
No, we're not.
We don't want to hurt you, Ipromise.

Speaker 2 (09:29):
Right, oh, I've.
I've had some dental, somehygienists that uh, you know,
just doing the cleaning can bepainful, um and uh, they were so
sensitive to not hurting methat you know they say, oh, I'm
so sorry and I'm like I didn'tfeel anything.
You know, it's great, yeah,it's great.
I love it.
Well, if, doc, if, if any ofour listeners in the area or

(09:55):
need a dentist or interested incoming to see you and checking
out your bikes or your guitars,hopefully you need to put some
guitars in there too.
How can they learn more?

Speaker 3 (10:06):
Our website wwwgraystationdentalcom.
Our phone number 423-926-5000.
Give us a call.
We'd love to get you in.
Maybe get you in for cleaningor whatever you need.

Speaker 2 (10:21):
So you do have, you do have availability.

Speaker 3 (10:24):
We do.

Speaker 2 (10:25):
Awesome, awesome.
Good to know, good to know,very cool.
Well, dr Turner, I can't tellyou how much and I apologize,
I've been calling you Richard.

Speaker 3 (10:35):
No, that's fine.

Speaker 2 (10:36):
Really appreciate you taking time out of your busy
schedule to to tell us all aboutyour, your practice and your
motorcycles and your guitars,and we, moving forward, wish you
and your family and yourpractice all the best.

Speaker 3 (10:51):
Well, thank you.

Speaker 2 (10:52):
I appreciate you as well, you too.
Maybe we can have you backsometime.
Great, all right.
Thanks so much.

Speaker 1 (10:59):
Thank you, thank you.
Thank you for listening to thegood neighbor podcast.
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