Christie Ledford Remmels joins McOmie Family Dentistry with 22 years of experience as a dental hygienist, having graduated with honors from Chattanooga State’s Dental Hygiene program in 1997. She worked alongside her father, Dr. Archie Ledford, for most of her career and brings a patient-centered approach focused on building long-term relationships and maintaining optimal oral health.

Key Takeaways

• You can now schedule your hygiene appointments sooner with Christie, who has 22 years of experience and focuses on building lasting patient relationships.
• If you value personalized care and seeing the same hygienist who knows your dental history, ask to book with Christie for your next cleaning.
• You can call or text 423-899-1112 to schedule your next cleaning appointment with Christie at McOmie Family Dentistry.
• Christie stays current with dental technology improvements that can make your hygiene visits more comfortable and effective.

Here We Grow Again

As our dental office here in Chattanooga continues to grow we are happy to be fortunate to add another hygienist to our team. Meet Christie Ledford Remmels. We have grown to the point that we were having trouble finding open appointments for people who wanted to get their teeth cleaned. We knew we couldn’t serve our wonderful patients as well if we couldn’t offer an appointment to get their teeth clean any sooner then two months out. So we went on a search for a quality qualified professional. We put out the word and Christie applied for the position. She comes to us with 22 years of experience and has an interesting dental background.

Dentistry Runs In Her Family

Christie was known for years as Christie Ledford.  Her father is Archie Ledford DDS, he practiced just down the street at a dental office on Shallowford Rd. Archie Ledford DDS started his dental practice in Chattanooga in 1974. His first office was on East Brainerd Rd. There is a hair salon there now and coincidentally Christie go there to have her hair done. After a while he moved his office to two different locations on Shallowford Road. 5 years ago he sold his dental practice and now his practice has sold again this time to a corporation from out of town. Dr.  Ledford was a well known dentist in Chattanooga and Christie grew up in and around the dental office her entire life. Unfortunately Dr. Ledford passed away a few years ago.

Background on Christie

Christie graduated with honors from Chattanooga State’s Dental Hygiene program in 1997. She got out of school and of course went directly to work for her father. She loved working with her dad all those years. She says that she had never been to a real job interview until she came to talk with us. She said it was hard to go to a job interview for the first time in her life. Christie attended Chattanooga Christian School on Broad Street in Chattanooga. After graduation from high school it didn’t take her long to decide a career in dentistry was right for her.

Fun Facts about Christie

• 1st job was as a cashier at Red Food store. Red Food no longer exists it changed to Bi-Lo then most have changed since then.
• Favorite vacation is Cap San Blas, Florida.
• Can surf waves of over 6 feet.
• Favorite subject in school was either Geometry or Chemistry. NERD alert!!!
• She played basketball and soccer when she was in school.
• She has owned 2 horses.
• Cliff jumping is something she has never done and never will.
• She has ridden a horse off a boat dock into a lake.
• She was a tom boy growing up golfing, fishing and huting with her father.

What Do You Love About Being A Dental Hygienist?

“I love the relationships with the people. I love seeing multiple generations of the same families. I enjoy seeing things like graduations, births, all the happy times in life I get to share with my patients. It is really fun having them come see me every six months, it is like getting to catch up with old friends. “

What Do You Do After Work At The Dental Office?

“Hanging out with my husband Scott is my favorite thing to do.  We take the dogs and go to the dog park. Jeep rides are something we love to do when the weather is accommodating. I like working out and frequent the gym I like staying in shape.”

What Do You Like About Working At McOmie Family Dentistry?

“This office has a very nice and stress free environment. The patient care quality is excellent, we really take care of the patients in an amazing way here. This office does only what in necessary and does the highest quality work, seeing beautiful dentistry makes me happy to be part of this team. Speaking of team the people that work here function as a team not as separate components doing an individual job. Everyone helps everyone without being asked or told to. I just really enjoy the people I work with.”

Anything Else You Would Like To Share?

“Dentistry has been great to me, I love being able to help people have optimal oral health. I have been in this profession a long time now and have seen the technology improve and make it easier on our patients. I feel fortunate to be able to practice at this time with so many innovative things happening making our patient visits even better. I am happy to of found something I love to do and can make a living doing it. I really love all the people who are loyal patients of mine it means so much to me that they choose to come see me every six months. It has never gone un-noticed or unappreciated. I love you all.”

Happy To Have Christie As Part Of Our Team

McOmie Family Dentistry continues to grow and as we grow we know that we need to keep the high standard of care and patient trust that helped us get this far, it is what makes our practice special. Finding quality people like Christie Ledford Remmels to come here to work helps us keep things going in the right direction. She is a great addition to our team and we are so happy to have her here.

Call or text 423-899-1112 to book your next appointment with Christie. She is amazing, if you don’t already you will soon love her.

Allie is a trained dental assistant who now works at the front desk at McOmie Family Dentistry, where she greets patients, answers phones without automated systems, and helps patients understand their dental insurance benefits. She handles insurance claims coding and coordinates care between the front desk and clinical areas to ensure smooth patient experiences. Her background in dental assisting allows her to understand procedures and accurately process dental claims.

Key Takeaways

• You can call the office and speak directly with a real person like Allie who will answer your questions without navigating through an automated phone system.
• Ask Allie to help you understand what your dental insurance will and won’t cover so you can maximize your benefits before scheduling treatment.
• You can expect to be greeted by name when you arrive, as the team prioritizes personal customer service and building relationships with patients.
• If you need help understanding dental procedures or how they will be coded for insurance, Allie has clinical dental assisting training and can explain the process to you.

Meet Allie

When you walk in the front door at McOmie Family Dentistry, most likely the first person you will see is Allie. She will greet you with a smile and call you by name in her friendly southern-lady way.

Dental Assistant, Front Desk Administrator or Insurance Genius?

Allie is a trained dental assistant, but these days she works at our front desk. She is a very hard-working, genuinely kind individual who spends her days helping people. She helps people who come into our dental office figure out many difficult problems such as insurance! To many of us, insurance is a complete puzzle that we can’t figure out without some help.

Who do you turn to when you need help with dental insurance?

It seems many people lean on Allie. She can then figure out what their dental benefits are and what the insurance will and won’t pay. This is no easy task, as anyone who has insurance can tell you. Rest assured Allie will help you maximize your dental insurance benefits.

Hybrid Front Desk Administration/Dental Assistant

She is one of the people that answer the phone when you call our office, no automated machine answering the phone here. At our dental office, we pride ourselves on our customer service, and we can’t give excellent service having a machine answer the phone and taking 2 minutes of your time making you press buttons. Allie does an outstanding job at our front desk, everyone who meets her can’t help but love her.

Dental knowledge is something that is needed to work at the front desk. You have to know procedures in the back and be able to code the dental procedures correctly to ensure efficient processing of dental claims. So to work at the front desk, you have to know everything that goes on in the office. You have to understand from the front to the back. Allie knows all of this.

A Little About Allie

Allie is from Dunlap, Tennessee. She was born and raised there and still calls it home. She graduated from Sequatchie High School. She then went to Miller-Motte for dental assisting and graduated before becoming employed at McOmie Family Dentistry. Before she was in high school, Allie did beauty pageants. She competed in quite a few pageants and recalls fondly being able to ride on a float in the 4th of July parade in Dunlap when she was a kid. She won Teen Miss Fairest Of The Fair, Miss Children’s Miracle Network, and Miss Relay For Life to name a few. She loved doing pageants and her daughter, still in diapers, is following in her footsteps. While she was in junior high and high school, she played softball and volleyball. She played both shortstop and center field.

She has never known life without working hard. She has always had at least one job often had two. She worked her way through dental assisting school and had two kids at the time. She has obtained many goals she has set in her life and has worked hard to get there. She is one of the nicest, genuine and caring people you will ever meet and would do anything for anyone

But who can fill those shoes?

Allie came to McOmie Family Dentistry right out of school and learned front desk from the legendary long-time employee, Dorothy. Dorothy had worked at the front desk for 14 years and worked at the front desk of various dental offices for about 20 years altogether. Allie had some big shoes to fill! When Dorothy retired, Allie was handed the reigns. She rose to the occasion and has done a wonderful job.

How Do Her Co-Workers Describe Her?

Kind, beautiful, caring, smart, and hard-working are words her colleagues use to describe Allie. She is wonderful at her job and can balance many things at one time. Working at the front desk of such a busy front office, there are many irons in the fire at all times. Keeping things straight is hard to do, and Allie excels at this. She is always pleasant and is just one of those people who seems to never be in a bad mood. She is always professional, even when she is extremely busy. She is part of the core of our office.

Fun Facts About Allie

• Her first job was as a car-hop at Sonic.
• Before coming to McOmie Family Dentistry, her last job was as a receptionist at a car dealership.
• Least favorite thing is dealing with insurance companies on the telephone.
• Has three kids: two boys and one girl.
• Science was her favorite subject.
• When she was a kid, she wanted to become a forensic scientist.
• Has never tried water skiing.
• Hit many home runs in softball.
• Her house burned down, not once but twice, as a child.
• She is a natural red head.
• Loves dressing her daughter up in cute clothes and giant bows.

A Few Questions For Allie

What made you want to be a dental assistant? Seeing people without a smile leave the office with one. The confidence a new smile can give a person is amazing! It seriously changes everything about them. You see more confidence in them, and they have a happy zest about them after having their smile restored.  I knew I wanted to be a part of having such a positive impact on people’s lives.

What is your least favorite thing about your job? Dealing with insurance companies on the phone can be frustrating. I want to help our patients so much, and I know I can help them understand their dental benefits if the insurance company will just gives me the information. When I am on the phone with an insurance company, and they put me on hold or won’t tell us information, it is frustrating because I am unable to help the person in the way I want. It is out of my control, and I don’t like that. I want to help people and give them immediate answers. Sometimes that isn’t possible because of the insurance company. I find that frustrating for everyone.

Favorite thing about your job? Interacting with patients and seeing their confidence improve. I have seen some amazing transformations. One that comes to mind is a guy who was thrown from a lift 80 feet in the air. He had been through many surgeries by the time he got to us. His craniofacial surgery was 9 hours long. As you can imagine, his teeth were severely damaged from the accident. By the time we finished with him, he had this broad, beautiful smile and looked awesome! His wife and family were as happy as he was. I saw him change from looking like a victim of an accident to becoming a confident person again. It was great! Seeing genuine happiness is an amazing thing and getting to be part of helping someone achieve that is fantastic.

Unique Things About Allie

• Facebook is her favorite social media.
• Blowing your nose at the dinner table is her pet peeve.
• Has competed in a bikini contest.
• Watching her boys play sports tops the list of her favorite weekend activities.
• Sweets, especially chocolate, is her guilty pleasure.
• Destin and Gatlinburg top her list of favorite places to visit.
• Pizza is her least favorite food.
• Will buy generic groceries.
• Will only buy name brand cosmetics.
• Ohio and Florida are the furthest from Tennessee she has been.
• Reading is her favorite hobby.
• Italian food is her favorite food. Funny as her least favorite food is pizza.
• Being in a car crash is the scariest thing she has ever done.
• Best vacation is Disney World with the kids.

Do you have a funny story you will tell us? I was playing in a softball tournament when I was younger. In between games, we were playing on the playground. I flew down the slide and landed on my bottom very hard. I was afraid to tell my parents how much I was hurting.  During our next game,  my first at-bat I hit a home run and ran the bases. After I had run the bases, I was in so much pain I had to come clean about why I was hurting. I left the game and went to the emergency room where I was diagnosed with a broken tail bone. So embarrassing!

What do you like about working at this dental office? I really love the people I work with. They truly are my second family. We hang out even when we are not at work. If I ever need anything, they are a phone call away. We all care about each other. I think the chemistry shows. When you come into the office, and everyone is happy and gets along, it is apparent. This is the only office I have ever seen where everyone does get along. My co-workers are like my sisters, and I love them. This is one of the things that makes our office unique. The quality and the caring go hand in hand. When everyone cares about what is going on at the office and wants the quality to be top-notch, we are all pulling in the same direction. We will help each other. This gives the patient an excellent experience. Leaving work knowing that we did something special for someone each day is great! We work hard, but the rewards of seeing what we do are worth it. It isn’t just a job to any of us; it is a passion for excellence.

We love Allie, and having her part of our staff is awesome! You can see from reading this what makes her so special. We are very happy to have her as part of our team and to be able to work with her each day. She works very hard to make sure each and every patient experience is as good as possible. She has the ability to unravel a problem and the talent to make it look easy.  She is awesome. So next time you come in make sure you say hello and tell her you read the blog post about her.

Better yet give us a call and make an appointment. There is a good chance you will hear “Dr. McOmie’s office. Allie speaking. How may I help you”.  Give us a call at 423-899-1112

Kristin is a dental hygienist at McOmie Family Dentistry in Chattanooga with 13 years of hygiene experience and 5 years as a dental assistant, totaling 18 years in the dental field. She focuses on improving your dental health through professional cleanings and patient education, helping you understand how oral health connects to your overall wellness.

Key Takeaways

• You can schedule a cleaning with Kristin, who brings 18 years of combined experience as a dental hygienist and assistant to your appointment.
• Ask Kristin during your visit how improving your oral health can positively impact your overall health.
• You’ll benefit from care using the latest materials and techniques, as the office stays current with modern dental advancements.
• Call McOmie Family Dentistry at 423-899-1112 to book your teeth cleaning appointment with Kristin.

If you come to our Chattanooga office to get your teeth cleaned then you have had a chance to meet our most experienced hygienist Kristin.

Kristin is fun and talkative, to say the least.  Friendly is a word to describe Kristin she is always smiling and admits that she loves to talk.  Honestly, she just loves people and loves conversing with them, to find out about their lives and learn from them. She is a very kind person and would do anything to help someone in need. She is fun to be around and can make the mood fun in a room with her contagious laughter.  Kristin has been with us for 3 years now and is our only part-time employee. She has been a dental hygienist for 13 years and before that, she was a dental assistant for 5 years. 18 years of experience in the dental field. To say she knows her way around a dental office is an understatement.  Kristin moved here from Utah when her husband transferred to Chattanooga with his job. In Utah, she worked for a dentist who went to the University of Louisville with Dr. Mark and Dr. Ellen McOmie. She also worked for an office that is owned by one of Dr. Mark’s best friends from high school. What a small world!

Kristin and her friends are on top of Mount Timpanogas, Utah, 11,752 feet above sea level!

Kristin’s family

A little-known fact is Kristin is our tallest employee! 🙂

A Few Facts About Dental Hygienist Kristin

Kristin was born and raised in Utah, she is from Ferron, Utah. She went to High School with NBA star Sean Bradley who is 7’6″ tall. She played basketball with Sean Bradley’s sisters, although they are taller than Kristin she says she could still dunk on them. In high school, she played Basketball, Volleyball and ran track. She comes from a large family with 6 kids. She has 5 brothers! This made her tough and she admits bossy, telling her brothers what to do all the time. After she graduated from high school she went to Utah Valley University where she graduated with her hygiene degree. She met her husband Jason in Provo, Utah.

Kristin and her kids at a Braves game this summer.

Kristin and her husband Jason enjoying hiking in Tennessee

Fun Facts about Kristin that most people don’t know

• She has a dental implant.
• She has no problem with people hunting. She says she would rather die then go hunting, she thinks it would be awful.
• A self proclaimed clean freak!
• She loves roller coasters.
• She has webbed toes. She can swim very fast.
• Once at dinner with Karl Malone and John Stockton.
• Her daughter is a sophomore in college at BYU.
• Met her husband on a blind date. She was pleasantly surprised that he wasn’t ugly.
• Running is one of her loves although she says she is getting older and can’t do it as much without injuries. She loves exercise in general. Yoga, hiking, walking are a few of the activities she does routinely.
• Has an amazing baked bean recipe, it is incredible.
• Before she worked at McOmie Family Dentistry she brought her kids in first then she and her husband came in as patients. A short time later we had a position open and she was hired.
• She has 1 daughter and 2 sons.
• Is still mad they fired Phil Fullmer for no good reason.
• Has never had short hair.
• She is a perfectionist. This works out well for dentistry as it is very detailed oriented.
• Ran a marathon in Silicon Valley, CA with her littlest brother.

Kristin and her kids riding bikes on Hilton Head Island

Kristin and her husband after the Riverbend 5k.

You are not from Tennessee. What do you like about Tennessee now that you have been here 4 years?

I think Tennesee is beautiful! It is so lush and green here, and I LOVE humidity. Is that weird? I also think Chattanooga’s downtown area is awesome. I love all the outdoor things this area of the south has to offer it is wonderful. The people of Tennessee are awesome! One of the things we first noticed after moving here is how polite and kind people are in general. We learned quickly that southern hospitality is a real thing!

What do you like about dentistry?

I like interacting with people and having the opportunity to teach them something that can improve their lives. I really like seeing the improvements in the dental health of my patients. Knowing it is tied to their overall health. This may sound weird but, I love removing tartar it is fun!

What do you like about working at McOmie Family Dentistry?

I love that our office is up on the newest and latest in materials and techniques! It is great going to work each day knowing we are doing top-quality work! I think our patients are exceptionally friendly, they are very nice. Patients have become friends. One other thing that makes life good is that I truly love my co-workers! Each one is an expert at what they do and they are like family to me.

We are very happy to have Kristin as part of our team! As you can see she is a great person who is truly a professional on every level. We are very happy she moved to Chattanooga and joined our team. Give us a call and make an appointment to have your teeth cleaned by Kristin! McOmie Family Dentistry 423-899-1112