Convenient Access from Old Hickory
Providence Dental Care is about a 21-minute drive from the Old Hickory Branch Library, a manageable trip for households weighing a dentist near Old Hickory. The office is at 684 N Mt Juliet Rd, Mt. Juliet, TN 37122, where our two dentists care for every generation of a family, from first checkups to replacement teeth.
From the library on Jones Street, take Hadley Avenue to the end of the road and turn left onto the boulevard named for the village, which is also SR 45. Stay on it heading south for about six and a half miles, through Lakewood and past Andrew Jackson's Hermitage, until it meets I-40 in Hermitage. Merge onto I-40 East, exit at 226 after about four miles, and turn left to head north on Mt. Juliet Rd. We are less than a mile up, between the interstate and US 70.
The whole drive covers roughly 13 miles, and if you know the red brick, Williamsburg-style Old Hickory Branch Library that DuPont built in 1937, you know the starting line. The 1934 post office, another DuPont-era building on the National Register, is part of the same historic core. Open our listing on Google Maps to store the route. Patients from Lakewood and Hermitage share most of this drive.
A Dental Home for Generations of Old Hickory Families
Few places around Nashville have a story like this one. In 1918 DuPont built a huge smokeless powder plant on Hadley's Bend of the Cumberland River, along with a planned village first called Jacksonville. The plant closed soon after World War I ended, but DuPont came back in 1923, began making rayon by 1925, and renamed the town Old Hickory in honor of Andrew Jackson.
Through the 1930s and into the 1940s DuPont ran it as a company town, with bungalows for workers and larger homes for managers. The company began selling houses to employees in 1946, and many of those homes remain, with the historic village listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today the neighborhood belongs to Metro Nashville in Davidson County, bordered by the Cumberland River on the north and west.
That kind of history creates deep family roots, and building a dental home for generations is one of the core values at our practice. It is common for us to see a grandparent, a parent and a child from the same household. Each one gets the same respect: we show you what we see on imaging and x-rays, explain the options, and never push treatment you do not want.
What Old Hickory Households Should Know About Their Teeth
Multi-generation neighborhoods bring a wide range of dental needs. Children need cleanings, fluoride and sealants to keep cavities away while their teeth develop. Parents juggling work and school schedules need dependable checkups and quick help when a tooth breaks. Older residents often need repairs to aging fillings and crowns, or a plan for replacing teeth that are already gone.
Saving a natural tooth is usually the first goal. A deep cavity that reaches the nerve can often be treated with root canal therapy and a crown instead of an extraction. When a tooth truly cannot be kept, the conversation turns to what will replace it, because a gap left open lets neighboring teeth drift and the jawbone shrink.
Implants have changed what is possible for people missing many teeth. All-On-X restorations replace a full arch on a small number of implants, and implant-retained dentures snap into place for a much steadier fit than a traditional plate. CBCT 3D imaging and guided planning help our team map the details before treatment begins.
Old Hickory Lake also shapes daily life here. The lake formed after the Corps of Engineers closed Old Hickory Lock and Dam in 1954, and boating, fishing and swimming are a big part of summer. A knocked-out or cracked tooth is far more likely to be saved when it is treated quickly, so keep our number in your phone.
Dental Services for Patients Looking for a Dentist Near Old Hickory
These are the services that come up most for the families who make the drive down the boulevard.
Implants and Full-Arch Care
Our Dental Implants service plans single-tooth replacements and All-On-X full-arch restorations with CBCT imaging. The team coordinates your care from planning through the final restoration it designs.
Crowns, Bridges and Repairs
Restorative Dentistry brings worn teeth back into service. Dental Crowns & Bridges cover a cracked tooth or span a gap, and CEREC lets us finish many crowns in one visit when the case allows.
Saving an Infected Tooth
Severe tooth pain or swelling can signal an infected nerve. Root Canal Therapy clears the infection and seals the tooth, so you can keep it rather than lose it.
Extractions and Wisdom Teeth
Through Oral Surgery, our doctors remove wisdom teeth and teeth that cannot be saved, including extractions ahead of implants, using local anesthesia and nitrous oxide for comfort.
Prevention for Kids and Adults
Preventive Dentistry includes exams, cleanings, fluoride, sealants and custom sports mouthguards, plus nightguards for adults who grind their teeth at night.
Urgent Visits
Our Emergency Dentistry visits begin with a problem-focused exam and digital x-rays, and in an emergency we do our best to see you the same day.
Meet Your Old Hickory Dental Team
Your care is led by Dr. Josh Gunnels and Dr. Spencer Bierlein. Dr. Gunnels holds an engineering degree from Tennessee Tech and a dental degree from the University of Tennessee in Memphis, and he enjoys hiking and fishing. Dr. Bierlein, who earned a master's degree at Tulane before dental school in Buffalo, now provides care at the Interfaith Dental Clinic in Nashville.
Insurance, Membership & Financing
Our team checks your benefits and explains them in plain terms. We are in-network with many popular providers, among them Delta Dental, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee. Uninsured established patients can choose a Child Complete, Adult Complete or Perio membership plan, each with 20% off procedures.
CareCredit and Cherry are options for spreading out the cost of larger treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far is Providence Dental Care from Old Hickory, and how do I get there?
The office is about 13 miles from the Old Hickory Branch Library, normally a 21-minute drive. Take Hadley Avenue to the boulevard, follow it south to I-40 East, and leave at exit 226 for Mt. Juliet Rd north. Families who want a dentist near Old Hickory find it a dependable, mostly straight route.
Do your dentists treat both young children and grandparents?
Yes. Our doctors see patients of all ages, from a child's routine cleanings and sealants to an older adult's crowns, dentures or implant care. Many families book their visits with us so that everyone's records and history stay in one place, which makes it easier to spot changes from one checkup to the next.
Should I save an infected tooth with a root canal or have it removed?
When the tooth can be saved, a root canal is usually the better long-term choice. Keeping your natural tooth preserves your bite and the bone around it, while an extraction leaves a gap that typically needs an implant or bridge later. Our doctors use x-rays and an exam to tell you which path makes sense.
Should I bring x-rays from my previous dentist to my first appointment?
Yes, if you have them. Bring any earlier dental records or x-rays along with a photo ID and your insurance card. We send new patient forms ahead to fill out electronically, and arriving about 15 minutes early leaves time for check-in. Your comprehensive exam takes about an hour, and a cleaning may be scheduled separately.
Can a tooth be pulled now and replaced with an implant later?
Yes. Some implant plans start by removing an unhealthy tooth, and our doctors use digital x-rays to confirm when an extraction is truly needed. Once the area is ready, the team plans the implant with CBCT 3D imaging, coordinates your care and designs the final tooth so it fits your bite and matches your smile.
Schedule Your Visit from Old Hickory
Whether you need a checkup for the kids or a plan for replacing missing teeth, a dentist near Old Hickory is only a phone call away at (615) 716-0058. Browse all the communities we serve on our Areas We Serve page, or read about the practice on our Mt. Juliet dentist homepage.