A dentist who grew up in dentistry

Meet Dr. Barbara Thompson, DDS

Dr. Thompson grew up in Franklin, Tennessee, in a dental family — her father practiced dentistry in this community for decades, and she was raised around the sound of a practice hallway. She earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Tennessee State University, a foundation she still uses every day reading nervous little patients.

She followed her father to Meharry Medical College for her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. It was at Meharry that she discovered her calling: working with children. That led to two additional years of specialty training at Howard University, where she earned her Certificate in Pediatric Dentistry — and then to board certification as a pediatric dentist.

After practicing in Middle Tennessee, Montgomery, Alabama, and Atlanta, Georgia, she came home to fulfill a dream: opening Thompson Pediatric Dentistry under the same roof as her father's practice — a true full-circle moment, blocks from the campus that trained them both.

In 2026, after decades of caring for this community, her father retired. Dr. Thompson's practice now fills the entire space — the family's second generation of dentistry on the same corner where the neighborhood has always found it.