Dr. Kenneth O. Friday’s practice in Homewood has new owners, Drs. Nathan and Mechay Gray of White Oak Family Dentistry. The Grays, a husband-wife dentistry duo and graduates of UAB School of Dentistry, purchased the practice from Dr. Friday in February 2022.
With over seven years of combined experience in the industry, the Gray’s branched out into ownership. While maintaining the small quaint storefront, Nathan and Mechay have also retained most of the existing team and are looking forward to following in the legacy that Dr. Friday established.
Since taking ownership, services have already been enhanced at the practice with the addition of kid-friendly dentistry services, Invisalign, facial injectables, such as Botox and fillers, extractions and root canal treatment.
Mechay Gray, practice co-owner said, “Nathan and I have been given a fantastic opportunity to continue to serve the people of Homewood and to add a variety of treatments to the foundation that Dr. Friday has built. Our first few months have been exciting. We have a great team and have been enjoying meeting the patients. It’s been such a warm welcome. We’ve had patients stop by just to give us a hug or bring us a gift to welcome us to the community.”
The pair met during their time in dental school at UAB. They got married in their fourth year, and then post graduation, they began practicing in Fort Payne where they have been since 2018. They have a one and a half year old son named Anderson, so Dr. Mechay spends part of her week caring for him as well. One of the reasons she decided to pursue a career in dentistry was so that she could be a working mom. Both doctors love seeing children and hope to incorporate family-centered care in their practice.
Dr. Friday, a UAB School of Dentistry graduate, opened his office, located at 1905 Oxmoor Road, over 38 years ago. He has served thousands of people by providing excellent dental care in the community. According to Dr. Mechay, Nathan interned with Dr. Friday in 2013 and built a lasting friendship with him. In fact, the name of the practice stems from a vast white oak tree that fell behind the practice that year. Nathan and Dr. Friday spent a lot of time preserving wood, creating furniture and other memories from the tree that had been standing there since the 1890's.
Dr. Mechay explained how their friendly staff truly cares for their patients like family. Everyone at White Oak Family Dentistry is dedicated to making the experience as comfortable, kind and personalized as possible. It’s an honor for the practice to serve and treat each family like one of their own.
“Our model is relationship-driven,” she said. “We've learned that there have been families spanning five generations that have entrusted their dental care to Dr. Friday. We want to continue these relationships while building trust to provide a personalized service.
“We are dedicated to making sure you and your family members have a relaxing and stress-free experience as you work toward healthy smiles.”
For more information on White Oak Family Dentistry’s services, call (205) 870-3055, email office@whiteoakdentalbham.com, or visit www.whiteoakdentalbham.com.
