Meet Our Team
Dentist Office in Waynesville, NC
Smoky Mountain Dentistry was originally founded in 1976 by Dr. Milas Ferguson and his wife, Patricia, a hygienist. In 2007, Dr. Ferguson and Patricia welcomed their eldest daughter, Elizabeth, and her husband Jed Lambert, to the practice. In 2015, we added our fourth dentist, Rebecca Ferguson Duncan, Dr. Ferguson’s youngest daughter. It’s needless to say that the practice has grown over the years, but the small-town atmosphere remains, and every patient is treated like “part of the family!”
Located in Waynesville, NC, Smoky Mountain Dentistry offers a full range of general dentistry services, and specializes in dental implants and same-day crowns. We treat members of the entire family, and are dedicated to serving patients in a warm, welcoming, and comfortable environment.
Our Doctors
Dr. Elizabeth Ferguson
Dr. Elizabeth Ferguson was born and raised in Waynesville. She graduated from Tuscola High School. She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she excelled in Art and Biology. After graduating with a degree in Biology, she worked at Duke University in genetic research before entering Dental School at UNC. While at UNC, Dr. Ferguson gained experience in all aspects of dentistry but excelled in cosmetic dentistry and prosthodontics.
While pursuing her dental degree at UNC she met her future husband, Dr. Jed Lambert. They moved back to Waynesville and joined the practice of Dr. Milas Ferguson, making Smoky Mountain Dentistry a family affair.
Dr. Elizabeth Ferguson enjoys the outdoors, hiking and traveling. Her free time is spent on ‘Fergerbert Farm’, where she and her husband care for their collection of animals; 6 alpaca, 1 llama, 5 goats, 1 cow, 2 dogs and 2 cats! She too, like the rest of her family, is a huge Tar Heel fan!
Dr. Jed Lambert
Dr. Jed Lambert is originally from Natchitoches, Louisiana, a small town in the middle of the state. After completing his final two years of high school at the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, Dr. Lambert enrolled at North Carolina State University. While there, he pursued a degree in biology while working several part time jobs. During this time, he began working for an orthodontic practice that eventually steered him towards dentistry as a career. Dr. Lambert then traded his NC State red for UNC blue when he attended the University of North Carolina Dental School, where he graduated with honors with a Doctorate of Dental Surgery degree.
While at UNC, Dr. Lambert gained experience in all aspects of dentistry, but excelled in prosthodontics and implant dentistry. He completes over 40 hours of continuing education annually, specifically in the areas of Implant Dentistry and CAD CAM Dentistry (same day crowns). Dr. Lambert is currently an adjunct faculty at the East Carolina School of Dentistry. He is member of the Western North Carolina Dental Society, the First District Dental Society, North Carolina Dental Society, and the American Dental Association.
Dr. Lambert enjoys the outdoors and along with Elizabeth, likes to spend time hiking and traveling. In his free time, you can find Jed on ‘Fergerbert Farm’ taking care of his many animals.
Dr. Robert Franklin III, DMD
Dr. Robert Franklin is a proud native of Western North Carolina. He was born and raised in Asheville and attended TC Roberson High School. For his undergraduate studies he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, receiving his Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology. He then pursued his dental degree in Boston from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. While at Tufts, he was awarded the Thomas B. Hunt Scholarship for academic and clinical excellence.
Dr. Franklin’s approach to dentistry involves treating his patients as he would his own family and focusing on treating the patient’s oral health as a window into their overall health. He has a caring approach with each patient in taking time to carefully diagnose and provide several treatment options while being understanding of the patient’s desires. He understands that for many a visit to the dentist can bring with it some degree of anxiety. By using techniques to help the patient relax and taking the time to get to know patients and their wishes, he strives to make the dental office a safe haven. Dr. Franklin considers one of the most rewarding aspects of his profession is establishing lasting, quality relationships with patients and working as a team to achieve a healthy smile.
He considers it a privilege to be able to return to the area to provide quality dental care for the community. Dr. Franklin is a member of the American Dental Association, the North Carolina Dental Society, and the Academy of General Dentistry.
In his free time, he enjoys being in the outdoors, fly fishing, playing soccer and spending time with family and friends.
Dr. Charles Page
Dr. Caitlin Mehaffey
Hygienists
Amy Postell, RDH
Amy is a native of the Great Smoky Mountains. She is from Robbinsville, N.C. where she resides with her husband and two children. She graduated from Robbinsville High School in 1994. Amy continued her education at AB Tech in Asheville and graduated in 1997 with an Associates Degree in Applied Science, Dental Hygiene. She has 20 years of experience and joined our Smoky Mountain Dentistry team in 2008. In her free time, she simply enjoys life, family, and friends!
Miranda Ross Arrington
Miranda is a native of Haywood County. She graduated from Tuscola High School. She grew up on a dairy farm in Haywood County. She has been an active part of the dental field since 2018. She started as a dental assistant, and she quickly became passionate about dentistry. Her passion inspired her to further her education by becoming a Dental Hygienist. Miranda’s favorite part of her job is providing patients with the experience of good dental care and the feeling of a great smile. She loves getting to know her patients and building long term relationships. Miranda married her best friend from high school, Josh. In her spare time, she loves traveling, camping, baking, and spending time with her friends and family.
Donna Villazon
Donna is a native of Haywood County, graduating from Pisgah High School, she attended AB Tech for Dental Hygiene. She brings years of experience and many skills to get you feeling your best smile! Donna has three daughters, 3 grandsons and 1 granddaughter, soaking up every minute she can. In her free time, you will likely find her out in nature camping, traveling, hiking and spending most of her time with family.
Christie Layman, RDH
I grew up in Waynesville and attended Tuscola High School. I graduated from Dental Hygiene School at Asheville-Buncombe Community College in 1992. I have been fortunate to practice dental hygiene in Haywood County for over 28 Years. I am grateful to be a part of the amazing team at Smoky Mountain Dentistry. Christie now resides in Clyde with her son, Walker and fiancé, Rob.
And she is of course yet another Tae Heel fan at Smoky Mountain Dentistry!
Brittany Henson, RDH
Brittany is a native of Haywood County. She graduated from Pisgah High School. She then went to AB Tech where she received a certificate in Dental Assisting and then a Degree in Applied Science Dental Hygiene. Brittany spent several clinical rotations at Smoky Mountain Dentistry and was able to become a hygienist here in 2015 after graduation.
Brittany and her husband Noah have one little boy name Callahan. They enjoy farming and raising show goats. They have around 60 goats and one Australian Sheppard name Zip. In her spare time Brittany enjoys traveling, crafting, horseback riding, singing, and helping with the youth group at their church.
Caroline Phillips, RDH
Caroline is one of our fabulous hygienists born and raised right here in Haywood County. She studied Dental Assisting at AB-Tech and loved the dental field so much she went back and continued her studies in Dental Hygiene finishing with her associate degree and continuing to receive her bachelor’s in dental Hygiene at East Tennessee State University. When Caroline isn’t taking care of her patients and educating them on ways to obtain great oral health she is spending time with her large extended family, hiking the beautiful mountains of WNC, camping, shopping, or gardening! With 9+ years of experience in the dental field, Caroline is a jack of all trades. She says that she loves to be a part of the SMD team because she gets the opportunity to provide oral health for the people in her community. It makes her relationship with her patients more personal. Seeing someone she knows brightens her day!
Dental Assistants
Ramona Vazquez
Ramona is originally from Miami, Florida and has been a dental assistant since 1989. She is a graduate from Robert Morgan Vocational Technical Institute and received her Radiology Certification from the University of Florida Dental School. She enjoys pediatric and general dentistry.
Ramona has been married for 34 years and has one daughter, 30 and two beautiful granddaughters 4 years old and 9 months old. Several years ago Ramona and her husband relocated to Western North Carolina and now reside in Maggie Valley. They love living in the mountains and enjoy outdoor sports like hiking, biking, camping, horseback riding and whitewater rafting. Ramona has been with Smoky Mountain Dentistry since 2008 and loving every minute of it!
Stefanie McClure
Stefanie has been a dental assistant at Smoky Mountain Dentistry since January 2008. She loves being part of the team and feels very blessed to serve the people of WNC in so many different ways. Stef moved with her family from Albemarle, N.C. in 2000 and has called Waynesville home ever since. She lives with her husband Micah and their kitty Jedi. Stef loves being outdoors and in her spare time, she slays vampires and zombies. She is also a huge Star Wars fan, so…may the force be with you!
Hanna Fisher
Hanna is a native of Western North Carolina in which she currently resides in Sylva. After graduating from Smoky Mountain High School, she attended Southwestern Community College and completed the Dental Assisting Program in 2018. Hanna completed her clinical rotation with Smoky Mountain Dentistry and became a full-time employee in July 2018. In her spare time, Hanna enjoys spending time with family and friends, and her pet Chihuahua. She also loves hiking and spending time outdoors.
Adriene Lindstrom
Adriene is a native of Western North Carolina and currently lives in Canton. After graduating from Pisgah High School, Adriene attended the Dental Assisting program at AB Tech where she earned her DANB certificate.
Although Adriene loves hiking and spending time outdoors in WNC, she loves to travel (especially to the beach) and spend time with friends and family.
Brooke Moore
Brooke is a born n’ raised in Canton, proud Pisgah Graduate! She completed the Dental Assisting program at AB Tech before becoming a valued team member here at Smoky Mountain Dentistry. Brooke’s positive attitude and radiant smile will make any dental procedure feel like a pleasurable experience. Outside of work, you’ll likely find her spending time with her precious blue heeler mix, Minkah, enjoying the lake and making the most out of life!
Alex Proben
Alex brings the flames to the office with her mad skills she gained through the AB Tech Dental Assisting program. She’s a Haywood County native and another proud Pisgah Graduate! In her spare time, Alex enjoys spending time with friends at the lake and living her best life! She’s also an avid lover of animals and good times.
Lindsey Parris
Lindsey is a native of Western North Carolina, residing in Sylva with her husband, Ridge, and two sons, Easton and Leelan. She joined the Smoky Mountain team in 2020 and has been Dr Franklin’s left hand woman ever since. In her free time, you’ll likely find her on an awesome hike with her doggies, reading a good book, traveling to amazing places and spending quality time with her family.
Tiffany Harris, DA
Tiffany joins us with 6 years of dental experience, receiving her x-ray certification from AB Tech in 2017, she has worked hard to learn the ins and outs of the dental world. Tiffany was born and raised here in Waynesville and still resides here with her husband, Gunnar, their baby girl, Kallie Rae and their 2 fur babies Stump and Ackley. When she’s not assisting Dr. Mehaffey is transforming smiles you can find her spending time with her family, camping, traveling, being outside and gardening.
Front Office Team
Michelle Wolff Campbell – Office Manager
Michelle is originally from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She currently resides in Maggie Valley with her husband Craig and their two children, Ian and Aidan, and one very pampered Jack Russell and two spoiled rotten kitties. Michelle received her Associate in Applied Science degree From Haywood Community College in 2010. During her studies, Michelle focused on insurance, insurance coding, and insurance billing. In her spare time, Michelle enjoys photography, travel, cooking, gardening and family gatherings and anything baseball related!
Ashley Gregory- Scheduling Coordinator
Ashley brings years of customer service and sarcastic humor to the office. WNC has been home since 2011, living a private and mysterious life, full of adventure. Bringing a smile to your face is her life’s work. You will often hear her bellowing laugh from the front desk, while enjoying a cleaning by one of our wonderful hygienists or relaxing in the chair with one of our fantastic dentists. When she is not hard at work in the office, you can find her enjoying live music, drinking local beer, connecting with nature, recording sick raps and just being plain awesome.
Emily Carpenter -Treatment Coordinator
Emily is born and raised in Western Carolina, graduating from Tuscola High School. She brings several years of experience with Invisalign and dental assisting to the front office team, in addition to many other fabulous skills. In her free time, she enjoys spending most of her time with her husband, Chase and daughter, Kinsley Jo. Emily is a joyous addition to the team who loves camping, shopping and Jesus!
Lorianne Merryman
LoriAnn was born in the mountains of New Hampshire and raised in New England. She and her family adventured to Chicagoland when she was about 12 years old. There, LoriAnn started her on the job dental field training while she attended college full time. She holds her dental assistant license in the state of Illinois as well as New Jersey. With 28 years of dental experience, we are sure happy to have her! Lori made her way to the beautiful WNC and now resides in canton with her family. She and her life partner, Phyllis share two 4-legged babies Linus and Lucy and 3 children, Robert, Charlie, and Sydney. Lori loves hiking local trails, gardening and socializing at local brews in her off time when she isn’t filing dental insurance claims and helping our amazing patient family. LoriAnn says the thing she loves most about being at SMD is just that, our wonderful patients!
Becca Israel
Becca was born and raised here in beautiful Waynesville, North Carolina where she still lives with her family. Her husband CJ, their 2 children Grayson and JJ, and their fur babies Luna and Xena! Becca completed her Dental Assistant Degree at AB Tech and brings 12+ years of experience to our team.
Outside of greeting our patient families that she gets to help every day Becca loves to spend time outside traveling, hiking, and going on adventures with her family. Becca says her favorite part of working at Smoky Mountain Dentistry is helping our patients navigate the dental waters with ease and of course, working with her bestie- Emily.
Anita Sneed
Anita brings a sweet spirit at over 25 years of dental experience to our team. She was born and raised in Marshall, North Carolina. She is married to her sweet husband Jimmy, and they have 3 kids, SIX grandchildren and a German Sheppard Greta.
In her spare time Anita loves to spend time playing and snuggling with all her grandbabies. You will often catch her showing off their photos and exclaiming ‘Love those grandbabies!”. She also loves to ride motorcycles with her hubby, travel with her sister and is active in their church. Anita says her favorite thing about working at Smoky Mountain Dentistry is taking care of our patient family and of course… the office puppies!
Gina
Gina joins us with 32+ years of experience in the dental field and she’s truly done it all. From assisting to being an office manager Gina is a jack of all trades. She was born and raised here in beautiful Haywood County where she still lives with her husband Gary. They have been promoted to grandparents and Gina will be quick to show you a photo or tell you a new sweet story about one of them! When she isn’t working or hanging with her grandbabies you can find Gina flower gardening, spending time with her family, or getting crafty! Gina says she’s happy to be a part of the SMD team because of our great team and working environment.
Janett
Janett come to us a little fresh in the world of dentistry but she’s a joy to have and eager to learn! Janett is currently studying at Asheville-Buncombe Technical College in hopes to become a dentist one day! She was born and raised in Virginia with her Older sister and two younger siblings. Janett is the oil that keeps our sterilization department running smoothly. When she isn’t running instruments from room to room or organizing the office she enjoys hanging with her friends and siblings, studying for school, or working out at the gym. Janett says she loves being at SMD because there is something new to learn every day!
Hall of Fame
Dr. Ferguson (retired)
Dr. Ferguson misses his patients and friends, but his granddaughters and fishing are keeping him busy and out of trouble.
Patty Ferguson (retired)
Enjoying my retirement and the freedom that comes w/it. Spending time entertaining 2 precious granddaughters. Refurbishing a family lake house in Cashiers. Continuing my weekly marathon swimming and slowly trying to get back to the Piano. Keeping up with my travels, love those exciting/new places and adventures. Active with Book Club and volunteering on events. Love this time w/family!!!!!!! Miss my wonderful patients/students and savor those special memories over the 45 yrs. practicing Dental Hygiene.
Dr. Rebecca Ferguson Duncan
I miss my patients and the wonderful people at Smoky Mountain Dentistry so much! However, my work commute is now 5 minutes versus 1 hour, which allows for more family time. Now that Cora is in preschool and Sarah thinks she is a teenager (she’ll be 2 in February) we are busy and enjoying every minute of it. I get to work with my husband at Appalachian Family Dentistry in Burnsville and together we are building our practice and becoming more involved in our community. Although we get to see Aunt Beth and Uncle Jed (Dr. Liz and Dr. Jed) all the time we certainly miss the rest of our Waynesville family.
Rhonda Schandevel (retired)
As I began to plan for my unexpected, but impending retirement, I made a conscious decision to embrace this season of my life. I could finally spend more time with those I love. Jeff and I could travel and I could spend time working at and enjoying our home. Most importantly, I planned to do anything to help at Canie’s group home in Clyde. Well, Covid-19 has affected all our lives, but that is how this pandemic has affected mine. I CANNOT EVEN ENTER his home!
I spend my time painting furniture, cleaning(there isn’t a surface in our home that has not be touched), working in our yard, cooking(which I have become quite accomplished at), and I’m learning how to sit down with Jeff and our sweet puppy Eleigh, and simply BE!
All in all, I’m just trying to keep my hands so busy that my heart will not hurt as bad!
Doris White Cathey (retired)
I am sorting thousand of photographs and scrapbooking them, renovating my 160-year-old house, sewing, reading many novels and spending more time with my adorable grandchildren. In other words, I’m busier now than I was when I was working.
P.S. I forgot to mention I’m also devoting one day a week to my little antique booth at Maddie’s on Main.
Give us a call today at (828) 452-5807 to learn more about our caring staff, dental treatments or our appointment procedures. We are here to answer any questions you may have.
