For Scottie R. Miller, D.D.S., the pathway to dentistry was enlightened by special mentors who believed in him.

A native of Honaker, Virginia, Miller grew up in a family of coalminers. Coming from a small town where everyone knew and stepped up to care for each other, Miller learned early on the importance of a strong community. He recalled the hard work that his father, Cecil, put into his job and his commitment to providing for his family and community.

“I remember once as a teenager, Dad told me to get in the truck that we needed to go get a load of coal,” Miller said. “I wondered why because our own coal house was already full. Once we shoveled the load into the bed of his truck, we drove toward home but then turned and took it to a little widow woman’s house that needed it before cold weather. I guess that is where my giving truly began.”

There were few dentists in his area when he was growing up, and his family visited one in a nearby town. Joe Adair, D.D.S. was known throughout the area, not only for excellent patient care, but for his own dedication to his community.

Miller recalled one instance in high school when he was visiting Adair’s office for a cleaning with his mother, Audrey, and was asked what he wanted to do for a career. His mother answered, “He wants to be a dentist”.

“I said that I wasn’t really sure, but I knew I didn’t want to work in the coalmines,” Miller said. “Dr. Adair said, ‘you should consider dentistry’ and from there he took me under his wing by letting me shadow him early on. It sparked an interest in me.”

Watching Adair’s interactions with patients, the impact that it had on their lives, and the intricate processes of making partials and dentures fascinated and inspired Miller. After high school, he attended Virginia Tech. While in school, he continued to visit Adair and shadow him.

After graduation, Miller went to work in a hospital lab and started a family. He recalled one fateful visit to Adair, who asked why he hadn’t started dental school.

“‘You gotta do it’, he said, so I applied to MCV School of Dentistry. He continued to encourage me and his belief in me is the reason I’m sitting here,” Miller said.

Miller graduated from VCU School of Dentistry in 1995. He stayed at VCU to complete a Prosthodontics residency in 1997. While he was in dental school, he became close with several of the prosthodontics instructors, including Dr. John Unger, Dr. Hugh Douglas, and Dr. John Ward. It was there that he discovered a fascination and talent for prosthodontics and dentures.

“A good mentor teaches you about clinical procedures and the business side of owning a practice, but it’s so important to surround yourself with people who inspire you beyond that,” Miller said. “You are made up of bits and pieces of the bright and intelligent people you surround yourself with and that’s who you eventually become.”

After completing his residency, he took a position as an adjunct professor at VCU. However, news of his father’s terminal illness led Miller back to Honaker to spend time with his family.

“On my way back to Richmond after seeing my family, I stopped at Dr. Adair’s old office, which had been sold to Dr. Tom Bays,” Miller said. “I told Tom that I was moving back and he asked when I wanted to start. We shook hands on it and I started two weeks after that. It was a full circle moment.”

Miller’s father passed away in 2001 after a three year battle with refractory anemia, but not before seeing Miller open his first private practice.

“He was my greatest mentor,” Miller said.

His father’s influence led Miller down a path of giving and involvement. Among many accolades, he has served as president of the Southwest VA Dental Society and as a Board of Director of the Virginia Dental Association. However, it was his involvement with Missions of Mercy that inspired him the most.

Miller became involved in Missions of Mercy projects over 20 years ago, where he worked closely alongside friend and mentor Terry Dickinson, D.D.S., who founded Missions of Mercy in 2000.

“To see Dr. Dickinson’s dream have such an impact is really satisfying. It is heartwarming to have the camaraderie with the other dental volunteers over the years,” Miller said. “It is rewarding to be a little part of a big project.”

Miller became the co-director of the denture team for the Virginia Dental Association Foundation. Alongside other prosthodontic team volunteers, he has provided dentures for countless patients at Missions of Mercy projects.

He recalled one of his first Missions of Mercy projects in Wise, Virginia. At the time, the projects were held at the fairgrounds. As a crowd of people stood waiting outside the gates, he recognized people in the crowd as members of his community.

“I saw people I went to church with, familiar faces from the grocery store, and family of those I knew,” Miller said. “Growing up poor and seeing people I knew in need that could only be treated one weekend a year in a fairground, I thought that there has to be more that I can do.”

He started a CODA-approved AEGD residency sponsored by Johnston Memorial Hospital in 2019 to help fill the gap in access to dental care in southwest Virginia. To his knowledge, the program was the first residency program in the US to start within a private dental practice.

In 2020, the residency expanded to a five-chair clinic, Appalachian Highlands Community Dental Center (AHCDC), that opened the day that the world shut down due to the pandemic, but it did not deter Miller and his team. The large MOM project in Wise was canceled that year, but Miller and the clinic held the first mini-MOM clinic once the clinic reopened and have since hosted 17 mini-MOM clinics in Abingdon, VA. He continues to travel to Wise for the larger MOM project to screen patients for referral to AHCDC, which is now the region’s largest adult Medicaid clinic.

“To be able to provide care for people that couldn’t afford it otherwise, it instills in our residents the value of community service and the impact that they can have on someone else’s life as a dentist,” Miller said.

Currently, the clinic now consists of seven residents and 14 operatories providing care for those less fortunate on a sliding fee scale. Nearly 80% of their patients are Medicaid patients with no place to go and the waitlist continues to grow daily. New construction is now underway to expand the facility to 21 dental operatories and 8 dental residents in 2026.

“This clinic gives people in need a dental home in a state-of-the-art facility five days a week,” Miller said. “It is an oral healthcare oasis in a dental desert”.

To focus solely on the residency program, Miller sold his remaining interest in three private practices in 2024 to three of his previous residents. It was once again a full-circle moment and a passing of the torch between mentor and mentee.

“The transition from private practice to full-time site director at the clinic has been really fulfilling,” Miller said. “Being able to see the impact from both the MOM projects and the residency over the years and how it has helped alleviate the need in these communities motivates me and inspires me. I thank God daily for my mentors and allowing me to find my purpose.”