Like father, like .. well .. in this case, daughter.
After nearly half a century as a dentist in Loudon County, Dr. Joe Simpson has retired, but he didn’t have to look very hard to find his replacement. His daughter, Natalie, was ready to take over the reins. Still, it is a decision that has been years in the making.
“I did not want to become a dentist. I think he’s genuinely shocked because for most of my childhood, I was like ‘no, I’m going to be a child-family lawyer’,” Dr. Natalie Roth (formerly Simpson) said. “I’m adopted and so is my brother so that is what I wanted to go into, but I was good at science and math so that’s when it kind of became a thing.”
Then, Dr. Roth said it all changed one summer at her father’s office.
“I worked the front desk first and I was helping with charts and things like that,” she said. “And, then his assistant, Sherry, who is now my dental assistant, taught me how to clean a room, taught me how to assist a little bit, as much as I could, and after that, I was like ‘dang it, I love this’.”
Dr. Simpson started treating patients 47 years ago. 22 years later, he brought in a partner, Dr. Scott Adkisson, who is still with the practice. Like his daughter, Dr. Simpson also had other ideas for a career before realizing his passion for dentistry.
He received a bachelor’s degree in forestry and a master’s degree in agricultural biology, but he still didn’t find the work satisfying.
“I didn’t like doing research so I started looking for a different avenue,” Dr. Simpson said. “In graduate school, I had taken a lot of the prerequisite courses for dentistry so I used that degree to take those courses and then I applied for dental school and got in”
Dr. Simpson said what he liked most about being a dentist is the people.
“I’m somewhat of an introvert but being in a dental office, you can’t be I guess,” he said. “It’s just rewarding to start the process and then see it through to the end.”
Dr. Roth agreed her father loves his patients. She, her husband Josh and their two children moved home to Tennessee after 12 years. They are staying with her father until their house is ready. Dr. Roth said everyday, Dr. Simpson goes over the schedule to talk to her about each patient.
“We just sit down and he says ‘she was my physical therapist’ and gives me stories about each patient because he’s known them forever so that’s been an awesome part,” Dr. Roth said.
Dr. Simpson said he is still keeping busy in his retirement.
“The grandkids. They’ve been fun,” he said. “I have a cabin in middle Tennessee and own a farm in Cumberland County where my mother grew up.”
Dr. Roth and her family are happy to be back in Tennessee.
“It’s like a homecoming,” Dr. Roth’s husband, Josh, said. “We’ve always wanted to come home and the stars aligned. It’s kind of surreal”
And, Dr. Roth is glad to be taking over for her father at what is now Adkisson & Roth Cosmetic and Family Dentistry at 603 US-321 in Lenoir City.
“’It’s pretty awesome to go to work where everybody is like a family to me and I’m getting to meet these patients who’ve heard about me and heard about my kids,” she said. “It’s super welcoming and I like that.”
“I love my job. Even if I won the lottery tomorrow, I would still go into work, because I truly love working with people,” Dr. Roth said. “I love making them love their smiles again.”
