Local dentists provide essential treatments for Grace Housing residents

When Taylors campus pastor Donald Spann started throwing around the idea for setting up a free dental clinic at their campus, JL Holliday was quickly onboard. JL and his wife, Katie, had recently moved from Hawaii to Greenville and had started attending the Taylors campus with their young son, Jack. JL also happens to be a dentist, and owns his own practice, Holliday Dental, in Hollingsworth Park.

As talks began to move forward on the clinic, a more pressing need arose for some of the Grace Housing residents who required urgent dental care. Like many others coming from difficult circumstances, some of the residents who needed care found themselves priced out of expensive treatments. For JL, along with dentist Mitchell Ellett, it was an easy “yes” to begin seeing these residents at their offices—especially those experiencing dental-related pain and health issues.

“Some of the housing residents have had addictions, which can cause rampant tooth decay,” JL says. “Some are missing teeth and their smiles are compromised.”

Through fillings, crowns, bridge work, and dentures, JL and Mitchell have brought smiles back to the faces of these women—smiles they can be proud of. For JL, it’s a simple way he can use his talents and gifts to serve those around him.

“I feel like it’s an outlet for what the Lord has called us to do—loving people,” JL says. “Me and my family, we are abundantly blessed. What are we going to do, just keep all this for ourselves?”

Plans for the free dental clinic are still in the works, with other dental professionals, like orthodontist Trecy Watson, helping lead the way. The goal is to grow slowly—serving housing residents first before opening up to more people in our area who are in desperate need of dental assistance. In the meantime, JL plans to continue to serve residents by providing free dental work at his offices.

• “These women are so sweet, and it’s fun to get to work with them,” JL says. “It’s so easy to do it. It’s a joy. It’s just an opportunity for us to love people and point them to Jesus.”