OUR STORY
Smiles For Recovery began with a vision to transform lives through dental care, inspired by a personal journey of recovery from addiction. In October 2023, Dr. Aaron Pryor of Lebanon, TN, learned about the struggles faced by individuals dealing with insecurities about their smiles due to substance abuse. This conversation sparked an initiative to support the community through accessible dental care.
TRANSFORMATIVE DENTAL CARE
The idea of creating a program that could help was born, focusing on transformative dental care and the collaboration of young surgeons eager to learn this cosmetic dental practice.
Since January 2024, Smiles For Recovery has been changing lives and restoring confidence in our communities by involving dental professionals and trainees in our programs, providing over $3.5 million in pro-bono dental care in the year 2024 alone.
Smiles For Recovery celebrates the healing journeys of our patients, ensuring that every smile has the opportunity to shine.
Justin’s Story
My name is Justin Lowry and I’m proud to be a Nashville native. I graduated from Nashville Christian High School before attending MTSU, where I completed my degree in 2005.
I’ve known Dr. Aaron Pryor of Lebanon TN, for over a decade, and he has always been a wonderful friend and a steadfast supporter of my family and me.
HERE’S OUR STORY
In October 2023, I shared my past struggles with Dr. Pryor for the first time, discussing my experiences and the recovery journey I’d undertaken over the past three years after 25 years of chaos.
After a lifelong battle with alcoholism and drug abuse, I found a place that helped me recover and allowed me to integrate my personal life, with my professional aspirations.
During my early sobriety, I attended multiple meetings each day for 2.5 years, learning a new way of living primarily through my service work with fellow alcoholics. I still try and hit 2-3 meetings a day, because that's what it takes for this Alcoholic.
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In the process of getting sober, I noticed many people at meetings who struggled with insecurities about their smiles, often covering their mouths when they spoke or laughed. This deeply affected me.
I expressed my concerns to Dr. Pryor and proposed that we find a way to assist our community.
Shortly after, he suggested I bring in young surgeons eager to learn, while he would teach them as they worked on our patients.
It was an ideal partnership, akin to a Batman and Robin scenario in dentistry, for which I am forever grateful to Dr. Pryor for providing us with a space to recover fully and for changing countless lives; I’ve heard many more than I can remember express their gratitude for him, even from those that have yet to meet him.
Seeing the positive impact we were making, we began inviting other skilled surgeons to teach younger ones, sharing their expertise and helping them improve their craft.
My first addition to this newly created group was with Dr. Jody Griffin, of Knoxville, TN who turned out to be a kindred spirit.
From our initial meeting, he has been instrumental in our success over the past year and a half, always supportive and open to my ideas. He is one of the most generous people I’ve ever met, alongside Andy Armbrister and Dr. Pryor.
Speaking of Andy Armbrister, from the moment I introduced him to the implants I represented, he has been open-minded, generous, and a champion for my initiatives. I knew immediately that he would be a great fit with Dr. Jody and Dr. Pryor.
Andy is a giver, extremely passionate about doing the right thing, and I’m proud to call him my friend and my brother that serves for us in Johnson City, TN.
In January 2024, we hosted 10 teaching doctors, 10 learning doctors, and 10 patients needing implants and new smiles.
Within just 12 hours that day, we extracted over 100 teeth and placed more than 125 implants, achieving our goal.
Every patient left with a smile, and we learned so much about our potential and the impact we could make in a single day.
Following that course in Jan, I continued to bring in doctors every weekend to learn from Dr. Pryor, Dr. Jody, and Dr. Andy.
Since January, there have been more than 40 doctors visit us to give back to our community and sharpen their skills in the process.
We welcomed guest doctors from out of town, who shared their knowledge about their surgical practices, to help us to improve our patient care.
Smiles For Recovery has operated as a nonprofit from the beginning, but on July 4, 2024, we officially formalized our organization with a vote and six members on our Board of Directors.
In 2024, we proudly provided over $2 million in dental care and placed over 700 implants for free, serving a community that might not otherwise afford such treatment.
We celebrate our patients who followed the healing process and are thrilled with their results.
We are grateful to all who have supported us. The true gift lies with the giver, and we are fortunate to have board members who embody this spirit. We will always remember their efforts and support for our people.