First-gen dentist’s message to graduates: ‘Life is a journey about service’

His love for people is what drew Zach Powell, DMD ’99, to the Medical College of Georgia’s then-School of Dentistry more than 25 years ago.

“What is great about the Medical College of Georgia’s School of Dentistry, which is now the Dental College of Georgia, is that students see patients very early in their academic career, and I was hooked because I love people,” said Powell, a first-generation dentist, who grew up near Lake Lanier in north Georgia. “Seeing patients early on helped me really buy into dental school and know that it was the career for me.

“I quickly learned you could be self-employed, you could be immersed in science, you could help people, and you could be entrepreneurial,” he added. “All that, for me, made the perfect profession. But it really is all about the people.”

Powell will be the keynote speaker at Augusta University’s Graduate Hooding and Commencement Ceremony at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10, in the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center. He is the CEO and chief dental clinician of The Georgia Smile Group, which has owned and managed 18 practices throughout the state over the past two decades.

While Powell enjoys treating patients of all ages and walks of life across Georgia, he is deeply committed to patient advocacy, especially for seniors and children. Powell, who served as the 2022 president of the Georgia Dental Association, is also passionate about rural health care initiatives in the state.

He and his wife, Elizabeth, who is the chief operating officer of The Georgia Smile Group, established the Zachary J. Powell Scholarship Endowment at DCG to encourage other first-generation dentists to practice in rural and underserved parts of Georgia.

“When my wife and I started out in 1999 with our own practice, we always wanted to give back, and we were always committed to doing just as much pro bono dentistry as we could,” Powell said. “For us, that all started in Augusta. We got married during my first year of dental school. We started our marriage in Augusta, so we wanted to start a scholarship for students who were perhaps first-generation dentists that wanted to go back and serve in a rural community.”

There is a tremendous need for dentists throughout rural Georgia, Powell said.

“Many folks don’t realize that more than 20 counties in Georgia do not have a single dentist. We have another 20 counties that have just one dentist,” said Powell, whose home office is Dentistry in Redfern on St. Simons Island, Georgia, but has several other offices reaching further inland. “Over the last 15 years, we have built a small group of private practices serving about 10 counties here in Southeast Georgia. For example, we have an office, Alma Family Dentistry, located in Bacon County. It’s the only dental office in the county.”

The purpose of The Georgia Smile Group is to help people throughout the state get the best dentistry available, regardless of where they live, he said.

“Our philosophy is that we stay patient-centered to where, whether you’re on the Georgia coast or you’re on a blueberry farm, we treat everybody the same,” said Powell, who has been an adjunct faculty member at DCG since 2023. “When you provide dentistry in a rural community, you’re part of the community. And when you’re part of the community, you have a responsibility. As part of the adjunct faculty at the dental school, I always urge young people to at least give an underserved area a try because once you go there, you won’t leave.”

Both of Powell’s children, Anna Jane and Zach, grew up working in the family practice, helping people. Anna Jane is currently an accountant in Atlanta, while Zach is a senior at the University of Georgia, currently applying to dental school.

“He finds out on Dec.15. I encouraged him to apply to several schools, but he only wanted to apply to one school, and that’s the Dental College of Georgia – to follow in my footsteps,” Powell said, smiling. “The fact that he wants to do what I do is, perhaps, the ultimate compliment.”

The best advice Powell said he wants to give graduates this fall is to make your journey about serving people.

“Life is a journey about service,” he said. “When you make your profession about serving and helping people, success will follow. It just will.

“I always tell people that service is the difference between having a job and being in a profession,” Powell added. “I always wanted to be in a profession because it’s about a greater good, about serving others. It seems like the more you give, blessings chase you.”