Major Chanda M. Gordon, USAF

    Dr. Chanda M. Gordon, DDS, a Graduate of University of GA (1991) and the University Tennessee Memphis Dental School (1996) is not your typical family dentist. Her dental training and experience spans the globe and ethnicities because her primary professional dentistry career began in the United States Air Force.

In 1996 Dr. Gordon was commissioned into the United States Air Force/ Officer Training School; she was selected (1 of 24 slots) for the Advanced Education General Dentistry Residency at the 96th Medical Group, Eglin Air Force Base. Upon successful completion of this rigorous dental training, her first assignment was at the 314th Aeromedical-Dental Squadron Little Rock Air Force Base– 2years. It was here where she implemented her training as a General Dentist and as an acting Oral Surgeon in which surgical complicated extractions with Intravenous (IV) sedation was required.

In 1999 she was accepted into the Air National Guard (165th Mission Support Flight (AMC) Garden City, GA) and served as the Base Dental Surgeon. She served 3 years Active Duty and 5 years Reserves. From August 1997 to September 1999, Dr. (Captain) Gordon distinguished herself by meritorious service as a General Dentist at the Little Rock Air Force Base; she produced over 540,000 dollars in quality dentistry for the Little Rock Community. Committing both time and resources, she supported community activities that provided assistance to local orphans, underprivileged children and to victims of local natural disasters. Thus, it was all of the aforementioned work ethics that earned her an Air Force Commendation Medal in September of 1999. By the year 2000, she was also working with an established Dental Practice in Atlanta, GA, where she worked for 9 years.

However, it was her service in the United States Air Force-Air National Guard that matriculated her dental expertise on a global scale. For example, in 2000 Dr. Gordon served in a Humanitarian Mission to Peru, treating over 1500 rural Peruvian natives. It was this mission whereby the United States Air Force awarded Dr. Gordon, The Air Force Achievement Medal. In addition, in 2005 she participated in other humanitarian initiatives in Nairobi, Kenya by servicing the dental needs of the Kenyan natives.

In 2001, Dr. Gordon was promoted to Major Chanda M. Gordon, a promotion that she remarkably accomplished in 4 years. Then, in 2004, she expanded her service to the less fortunate and despondent by accepting a contracted position as the Dental Commander for the City of Atlanta Detention Center (down town Atlanta), providing dental services for inmates, serving for 5 years.

While Dr. Gordon has had an extraordinary dental career, her innermost passion was to open “a Family Centered” practice that would provide dental hours and services convenient and educational for the working class family. In doing so, she hoped to be a staple stake holder in increasing the numbers of people and their families taking better care of their teeth, thereby decreasing early decay, gum disease, tooth extraction and over all promoting “teeth wellness.”

That passion became a tangible reality when Dr. Gordon opened her own private practice, Pain Away Dentistry (Atlanta, Ga), in 2009. In so doing, she designed her office hours with a unique component in order to meet the working class Family needs—3pm to 8pm; in addition, 24 hour emergency care (by appointment). Her core motto being, “We fit our Patients; We don’t make our patients fit us”