On paper, Mississippi and Utah might not seem to have much in common. And if not for the alphabet, Dr. Ben Kellum and Dr. Bryan Kariya might never have discovered just how much they did. In dental school, they were paired simply because their last names fell next to each other alphabetically.
The random assignment soon revealed deeper connections. Both were married when many of their classmates were single, and both shared a strong faith and similar values. What began as an alphabetical pairing grew into a friendship and, eventually, a professional partnership built around a shared vision: making dental implants more affordable and accessible to the people who need them.
“When we were told to choose someone to work with for a project, I just turned to Bryan because he was sitting next to me,” Kellum said. “It turns out we were choosing our clinic partner for the next four years.”
After dental school, Kariya stayed in Oklahoma and set up a private practice, while Kellum left to complete a residency.
“Ben kept sending me photos of the cool cases he was doing involving surgery and sedation. I enjoyed doing those things in dental school, so I thought to myself, ‘I wish I were doing that,” Kariya said. “Ben became licensed in Oklahoma so he could come out and work with us to provide that kind of care to our patients. I think I said to Ben one too many times that I wish I were doing this type of work. He said back to me, “I either never want to hear you say that again,n or you need to come out and train with me so that you can be doing these types of cases. Ben has a gravitational pull about him when it comes to things he is interested in, so, when the circumstances allowed me to step away from my practice and do a residency, I took the opportunity to do so.”
Kariya did not return to Oklahoma. Instead, the two dentists relocated to Huntsville and opened Transcend Dental to provide reasonably priced, comprehensive, high-quality dentistry to those in need.
That desire was not born overnight. While in dental school at the University of Oklahoma, the two completed a rotation on a mobile bus in Elk City, Oklahoma, where they could do only one thing: fillings. Kellum says those who sought dental care that day needed more extensive dental work.
“When we got back to the hotel that night and were sitting and talking, I was left with the feeling that we were not helping these people, and wouldn’t it be cool if we could create a place to get people taken care of, especially those who really need comprehensive care,” Kellum said. “After dental school, I worked as a residency director at a drug recovery center, and had sort of seen a model like this, helping people in need who needed big work. So, when Kariya and I were in transitions in our careers, I told him, ‘I think we could do this. We need to find a place and build it.’”
Kariya says opening Transcend was daunting, not only because Transcend’s mission is to help those in need of comprehensive dental care, but also because it's a way for Kellum and Kariya to share their Christian faith. The pair says they approach their work as a way to show God’s love.
“I tell patients that we are a Christian-based clinic. I guess we are showing Jesus through teeth. I guess if we were plumbers, we would be showing our faith through plumbing, but we are dentists, and this is what we can do to help people,” Kellum said. “So, Transcend is a combination of us seeing this need, seeing that there is really a lack of resources to touch the need, and then having the drive of the ministry and a desire to outpour that love through dentistry.”
Transcends focuses strictly on implants. The why is simple–people deserve to be able to chew and eat. Kellum says it is something that a lot of people take for granted; people often do not realize how much it means to have teeth and how much it means not to have teeth.
“It comes in so many different forms, whether it is lack of confidence, whether it is lack of ability, or even life choices made,” he said. “People judge based on what they see, or it may be that someone hurts every single day and their daily decisions are affected by just feeling miserable all the time.”
Kariya has seen these scenarios with his patients. He had a patient in his young 30s with a massive grizzly beard. When Kariya asked how long he had worn the beard, the patient said he grew it out to cover his terrible teeth.
“We were able to do a full mouth rehabilitation on him where we took all of his diseased, rotting, broken, and painful teeth out, replacing them with implants. I just saw him last week. His beard was gone. He was trimmed up. He’s got confidence. He speaks with clarity. I just saw him last week. His beard was gone, and he was trimmed up. He’s got confidence. He speaks with clarity,” Kariya said. “There is a lot about him that was a very distinct change. Like with this patient, we have had dozens of patients tell us how impactful it is for them to be able to have a new set of teeth.”
For Kellum, one story that stuck with him involved a lady with dentures. She experienced loose dentures for years, but one day while eating lunch with her friends, her dentures fell out and onto the table. She confided in Kellum that she had not left her house in the three months following this embarrassing moment.
To both Kellum and Kariya, dentures are not the ideal replacement for one’s teeth. They are a good, more affordable option, but when it comes to staying close to your natural teeth, implants offer better chewing, eating, speaking and overall fit.
“I worked at a denture clinic before opening Transcend and would make ten to 15 dentures a day, and I started to get to the point where I met with patients to be honest with them. Dentures, especially the bottom denture in particular, are always going to be challenging. Even if it is made perfectly, it is not made to chew, eat, or function like normal teeth. It just can’t,” Kellum said. “Implants give us this amazing option that is time-tested. I like to think of it in terms of someone losing a leg. You can get a pirate peg leg. That’s one way to solve the problem, but that’s not going to give one the ability to do much. Or you can get an advanced prosthetic that lets you walk and do other things. And so dentures are an option for patients, but the solution really doesn’t solve the problem.”
Kariya says they have years of practice communicating with patients about the choice between dentures and implants. They encourage patients at the crossroads of needing dentures to schedule a consultation to chat with one of the doctors before making any decisions.
“We have reduced the barriers for people to come in and see us. We do complimentary consultations,” Kariya said. “We walk them through the procedures and see what the best options are for that patient. If they want to move forward, we will be the best option for them; if not, then that’s okay, too.”
Besides the knowledge they have gained over the years, both Kellum and Kariya’s interest in technology allows them to do implants more economically. Part of the affordability comes from creating implants onsite and training people to do it extraordinarily well. Sending work out is incredibly expensive. Working primarily in implant dentistry allows both to become more efficient and cut costs. Partnerships with companies that understand the ministry behind Transcend, and working with them to obtain high-quality equipment priced so they can pass it on to patients.
“Affordability does not mean that we cut corners. I have big conversations with our patients about our whole goal,” Kellum said. “We are doing the same stuff as the fanciest clinics out there. We have more technology at our disposal here than any clinic I am aware of in Alabama. We use the best stuff to do the highest level surgery that’s possible to get done right now.”
To serve the veteran population, Transcend recently became a VA provider, removing many of the barriers veterans often face when seeking dental care.
“Veterans are one of the populations that tend to be underserved, and when you talk about giving back to the people that really deserve it, those individuals put their life on the line,” Kariya said.
In addition to offering high-quality dental care to the community, Transcend offers professional development opportunities for local dentists. They call it the Study Club, where local dentists gather at the Transcend building to review cases, techniques, and skills that will help improve dentistry in the area.
“Unless a dentist is spending time pouring the hours into training, they do not know all the options that exist. That’s why we hold these meetings. We want them to know we are a resource to the dental community so they can provide their patients options that are ideal,” Kellum said. “They educate us, too, so when something comes up with one of our patients that is outside of our scope, we can send them to other dentists to get it taken care of as best as we possibly can.”
After about six years in business, Transcend Dental has made its mark on many patients, but one patient, Jerry Jackson, has become the clinic’s self-appointed ambassador. When Jackson sought help at Transcend, Kellum said he was in a bad place. The first visit was quick, as Jackson needed to return to his wife, who remained in the car. Later, Kellum found out that Jackson’s wife had dementia. The next time Jackson returned for treatment, he revealed that his wife had passed.
“He told me that his wife had wanted him to get his teeth done. So, we ended up doing the surgery, and now he is the most vibrant human being,” Kellum said. “Every person in the office lights up when he comes in, and he gives me such a big bear hug that I’m afraid he is going to shatter my glasses.”
Now Jackson recruits patients for Kellum and Kariya, often personally escorting people through the clinic doors.
“Jerry was Ben’s patient, but I have been able to work on a few of his friends, and that is part of the thing that I find remarkable. Because a transformation took place for him, he wants to share that goodness with other people,” Kariya said. “Any time we get a referral from a patient or another doctor, it means so much to us because that’s the best stamp of approval. It’s not just about the work we do in their mouth; it’s because we make sure they are loved and cared for, and we want them to have good things.”
Jackson’s story, along with the other transformations, has encouraged Kellum and Kariya to sponsor Smile It Forward, a holiday contest that will award one patient who currently wears dentures a transition to implants.
“This is something we have talked about for a long time, and are in a position now this year to be able to make this happen,” Kariya said. “We want the person selected to go from frustration with having their natural teeth to dentures to being able to get them to a place where they can smile, chew, function, and really establish confidence and excitement to be able to taste food the right way again. It’s just a little slice of what we can do for the community.”
The contest is again putting their practice of giving back to the community on display, the idea that drove Kellum and Kariya to relocate to Huntsville during COVID to open Transcend. It’s what kept them motivated while remodeling their building on Century Street, when they had to practice dentistry in the garage portion of the building with exposed beams and construction noise. It is not just the foundation of Transcend, but it is who Kellum and Kariya are.
“There is a song we sing in church that goes, “Because I haven’t given much, I too must give.” I think that is part of our motivation. God has blessed us with so much; our clinic is just a small part of what we can do to try to give back and help those in the community,” Kariya said. “We hope that our patients' days are better because they come into our office. It’s more than dentistry; it’s about helping people. We are not perfect, but we strive to provide something more than just teeth. We want them to feel loved as well.”