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Kind of fell into dentistry. Whenever I was in college, I had pursued some other medical careers and had worked in a pharmacy; I had done some shadowing with some physicians. And I had a good friend whose father was actually the current president of the Kentucky Dental Association. And his father asked me if I was ever interested in looking at dentistry as an option. I'd never really considered it and hadn't obviously been a regular dental patient, but he really sparked my interest. So that following summer, after my freshman year of college, I actually became a dental assistant. So I was a dental assistant for three years of my undergraduate training, which gave me a great overall experience of dentistry, of interacting with patients. But more importantly, I realized that I fell in love with the profession.
I love being able to interact with patients. I love being able to learn about their lives, learn about their families and just get to know them and their story first, and then find out what their concerns are, what their fears are, what long-term concerns they have or worries they have so that we can come up with an overall plan for each individual patient.
Every patient has a different history, every patient has a different future, and both of those things combine to where they are in the present. And so I love to put all that together with each one of my patients and decide how can I help them in moving forward in their future to achieve the goals that they have. And obviously, their oral health is just a minor portion of that, but it is a piece. And I want to do my part to help in that, that part of their future.
Dr. Erica Higginbotham is a native Kentuckian who graduated with her Bachelor of Science in biology from Georgetown College. She later graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry in 2003, where she was honored with the Quintessence Award in Periodontology and the Award for Oral Diagnosis.
Dr. Higginbotham has been very active in organized dentistry over the past 10 years. She has served as an executive board member for the Kentucky Dental Association, secretary for the Kentucky Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, and board member and vice president for the Bluegrass Dental Society. She is a Fastbraces® affiliate and also a Preferred Provider of Invisalign. She has also volunteered her time serving underprivileged areas in Kentucky and Mexico.
Dr. Higginbotham and her husband, Patrick, enjoy spending time with their three children on their farm and equine boarding facility here in the Bluegrass.