Athens Dental Group has a rich history of caring for patients in the Athens area. Dr. Lawrence George opened the doors of his practice in east Athens in 1972. He quickly became known as “the singing dentist” and patients loved the way he would serenade them with Elvis Presley or Willie Nelson while he worked. As his practice and reputation grew, he quickly ran out of space at his first dental office. Over the next 30 years he would build 2 more offices and run out of space 2 more times.
This led Dr. George to build our current office on Jennings Mill Road in 2001. Many friends and colleagues advised Dr. George not to build such a large, beautiful office 30 years into his career and so close to retirement. But Dr. George loved his patients and dentistry, and he knew he was nowhere near retirement.
Through the years, Dr. George had many young dentists work in his office as he searched for the right person to partner with him to take care of his patients. Dr. Brant Sandifer joined the practice in May of 2021 and it was a perfect fit from the start. Dr. Sandifer had already been working at another practice in Athens for several years and had gained a great reputation as a talented dentist and a caring person. As the practice continued to grow, Dr. George and Dr. Sandifer knew they needed another dentist to help them care for their growing patient base. Dr. Sandifer had just the person in mind.
Dr. Drew Richardson joined the practice in May of 2023. Prior to joining Athens Dental Group, Dr. Richardson had owned a successful practice in Augusta. He had a great reputation amongst both patients and colleagues as being a quality dentist. He and Dr. Sandifer had grown up in Tifton, Georgia together and had been friends since they were 8 years old. They had already shared a number of life experiences including playing in a band, living as college roommates, being in each others’s weddings, and even traveling to multiple other countries together. After attending dental school, they dreamed of having a dental practice together.
Today, Dr. Sandifer and Dr. Richardson are living out that dream in the practice that Dr. George built. The team at Athens Dental Group is second-to-none and most of the team have been with the practice over a decade- a rare thing to find these days! Additionally, the patients at our practice feel like family. It is not uncommon to have a patient in the office who has been coming for over 40 years, or to have 2 or even 3 generations of a family in the office at the same time.
Dr. George retired from clinical dentistry at the end of 2023, but Dr. Sandifer and Dr. Richardson continue to build upon the legacy that he started in our community over 50 years ago. When you visit Athens Dental Group, you will receive the best care in the area and you might even run into a couple of “singing dentists”.