Hidden Gems: Meet Dr. Brice Gilliam of Elevation Orthodontics

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Brice Gilliam. 

Hi Dr. Gilliam, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’m a local guy, born and raised in Lebanon, TN (home of Cracker Barrel)! After graduating from the University of Tennessee, I moved downtown Nashville, which is where I completed my dental education at Meharry Medical College. Throughout dental school, I always felt called to be an Orthodontist; I decided to follow that internal voice and finish my speciality program in Washington, DC. 

After becoming an Orthodontist, I took an associateship position in an orthodontics practice that treated mainly children. I remember a large majority of the parents explaining to me they wish they had a place they could go to get their smile corrected, somewhere they weren’t surrounded by preteens and teens. They wanted a place with more adult-friendly hours, that didn’t have cartoons or balloons on the walls, somewhere they could feel comfortable being treated! After hearing the same thing over and over, it forced me to realize that there are so many people that are not confident with their smile and feel neglected when it comes to care because they don’t have the option to go to a place that’s designed for THEM. 

Fast forward to 2019. Opening my own private practice orthodontic office in Nashville was always the ultimate plan, however, I didn’t envision it would be something so incredibly unique! I’m going to open an adult ONLY orthodontic office. Even thinking about it now seems so radical, yet at the same time, like a no-brainer! 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
When starting something from scratch, struggling is inevitable; there will always be peaks and valleys, and our start was nothing short of that. We opened Elevation Orthodontics in November of 2019. November and December aren’t traditionally the best months for orthodontics, however, we were new and exciting to the community, so it was great. Then a tornado swept through Nashville in March. Fortunately for us, our building was still standing, but we were without electricity and utilities for about 28 days. After the 28-day vacation, we were back; we could finally care for all our patients again! Two days later, government mandates were enforced causing us to pause work again for six weeks. Not being able to work at a practice that’s in its infancy for ten weeks is less than ideal. When you start to compound the struggles that were outside our control with the challenges I chose to take on (changing people’s perspective on orthodontics being for adults, not just kids), it’s a miracle we are still here. 

Being on the leading edge of anything is difficult, but being the first orthodontic center 100% dedicated to adults and their specific wants and needs is an entirely different ball game; I’m breaking down barriers, removing stereotypes, and redefining the profession. Getting your smile corrected means “you have to wear traditional brackets and wire” and “braces are only for kids” are two false theories that Elevation Orthodontics was created to debunk. The struggles we faced, in the beginning, were unfortunate, but they are now part of our story and helped shape who we are! 

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are Nashville’s first ADULT ONLY (dental specialist) orthodontic office created to help get our clients to their best smiles. It’s a radical concept, but one that is much needed. We were created to give you new options and perspectives to a profession that has been stereotypically categorized as only for kids or teenagers. We have set out to change peoples’ views of the orthodontist and who should get a new and improved smile and live their best life. Designed to fill all the voids of current smile correction facilities. 

We are now living in a world that is becoming less about personal interactions, less about individualized care, and less about community (more about robotic automation, corporatization, and profit margins). We believe people prefer a personal, individualized treatment from a community-based team, so we are moving away from the corporate models and giving totally customized treatments by a single doctor. We offer the most esthetically pleasing smile correction options ever created, such as Invisalign and braces that are hidden behind the teeth in a mature, state-of-the-art, award-winning designed office, with adult-friendly office hours. 

If you walk into our office expecting your old, traditional family orthodontic office, you’re going to be in for a surprise! 

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memory is raising cows with my grandfather. When I was little, my grandfather would wake me up to help tend to the calves, oftentimes before the sun came up, still cold and damp from morning dew. My task was to bottle feed the calves. At the time, it was so difficult; it seemed like it entailed so much work and I really didn’t want to do it. Now I realize, there were so many lessoned learned during those morning feedings. I learned if you push yourself to start early, even when you don’t feel like it, you can accomplish a lot before most people wake up, to work hard, but work smart, and to enjoy the moment because things are always changing and you’ll never get this time back. I learned so many lessons from my grandfather, but most of all, that the greatest joys in life are often the result of continuing to push through hardships. 

Pricing:

• Free Smile Consultation
• Complimentary Smile Outcome Simulation

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: elevationorthodontics.com
• Instagram: @elevationorthodontics, @brookeandbrice
• Facebook: ElevationOrthodontics

Image Credits
@crackerfarm
@madeleinejuliet