Clarksville, TN – Clarksville Dental Center has been serving this community for more than 30 years. The office that sits at the intersection of Peachers Mill Road and Purple Heart Parkway was founded by Dr. Mac Edington and Dr. Ernie DeWald in 1994, after the two retired from the Army.
Sadly, in 2022, Dr. Mac Edington passed away. His partner Dr. DeWald put a lot of time and thought into how the practice he and Mac built would continue. In 2025, a deal was struck with Dr. Kevin Kennedy, Jr. and Dr. Zachary Meyer, who now work to uphold the standards established by their esteemed predecessors.
“We are honoring the legacy of Clarksville Dental Center. Founders, Dr. Edington and Dr. DeWald, both retired from the military,” Kennedy, Jr. said. “They were officers in the Army in the Dental Corp. They started this practice and chose this location for a very specific reason: to serve this community, which is so heavily military-affiliated.
“For more than 30 years, this location has served a lot of people in this community, at a really high level. As the practice matured, they got closer to retirement. Unfortunately, Dr. Edington passed away a few years ago. Dr DeWald was really committed to finding a next generation for this practice, people who would maintain its commitment to the community.
“There are several opportunities in dentistry right now, where a practice such as this would have the highest and best offer from a corporate entity, some type of private equity structure, which has no connection to the community.
“The DeWalds, Ernie and Joan, were committed to trying to find someone who would take care of the people, provide dental care with a really high level of integrity, provide excellent clinical care, and ethical billing practices.
“Over the course of a few years, we had several conversations, and finally got to the point where it made sense for Dr. Zach Meyer and me to partner together, purchase CDC from them, and transition the legacy.”
Talks started in 2024, and by July 2025, a deal was struck.
“Dr. Meyer, when he moved back to town right out of dental school, was an associate dentist here for a certain period of time,” Kennedy, Jr. said. “So, he had a connection to Dr. DeWald that way. I had a connection from various community involvements, from the museum to APSU to other various causes the DeWalds and I were involved in.
Dr. Kennedy, Jr. and Dr. Meyer were excited to move forward, ensuring that CDC’s well-established principles and values were upheld.
“CDC has long been very community-focused and community-centered,” Kennedy, Jr. said. “Zach and I strive to continue providing that type of service. We want to do that for another generation of clients. I came back to Clarksville as a dentist in 2013. So, that’s 13 years of being a dentist here in town. I started a practice, Spring Creek Pediatric Dentistry in 2019. That has matured very well, and we are about to hit year 7.
“As my career has changed, so have my responsibilities over time. Our new facility opened in February 2024, right at 2 years ago. That business is actually opening a second location in north Clarksville next month.”
Kennedy, Jr. says the goal is not to create some giant empire. “The goal is, if we really care about our community, then how can we provide the best dental care to the people that we live with, work with, play with, and go to church with. Their kids are on our kids’ sports teams, etc. How can we serve people who are here long-term. They may have an existing dental relationship, or not. But, it’s important to have a relationship with someone you know will make sure you are taken care of.”
Kennedy, Jr. reiterates, it’s not about profit. It’s about taking care of the people who live here and work here, investing in the community, and being a place where they can find someone they can trust.
Dr. Zack Meyer is a second-generation dentist here in Clarksville.
“His dad is Dr. Ernie Meyer; he has been here for multiple decades,” Dr. Kennedy, Jr. said. “Zach followed in his dad’s footsteps. He moved back to town around 2017 or 2018. He continues to work with his dad at All Smiles Family Dentistry. He also has a practice across from Fort Campbell’s Gate 1 – Alpha Dental. And, of course, we work together here.
“We connected on this opportunity because of our love for the community. He was also born here, raised here, went to high school here, and then to APSU. We went to the same dental school in Memphis, and now we’re back. We’re getting the real privilege of practicing in our hometown.
“We have spent a lot of time on the transition because we have made it a priority to honor not only the legacy of Dr’s DeWald and Edington, but also the incredible loyalty of their patients. We are trying to extend that same expectation of care that they had with the previous owners.
“We were also excited to realize that this ZIP code in particular is on fire, growth-wise. Lots of new investment is happening here. Lots of new people are moving here. There are so many new neighborhoods and complexes, and people new to Clarksville who haven’t yet found their dental home.
“We want to be the one that is easily accessible. We have convenient hours. We work with our insurance to the best of our ability. We have multiple doctors, so it creates a lot of opportunities. I think some people, when they drive by, don’t realize that this is quite a dental office.”
The new partners have worked really hard on updating the lobby. There have been lots of tech upgrades in the last six months. Their next focus will be the building’s exterior. They want to give it its due – A fresh look from the street, so people will know this is a place they can trust.
In addition to Dr’s Kennedy, Jr. and Meyer, there are 3 other dentists on the dental care team, and about 25 employees in total. Many of them have worked at this location for years.
“We’ve made a lot of good progress,” Kennedy, Jr. said. “There has been a lot of investing in trying to figure out how we can make the most strategic upgrades. We want to modernize the space. The lobby needed addressing – we did that. We’ve upgraded some of the technology, in regard to taking radiographs, which helps us better diagnose things. We also made an upgrade to some of the tech that we use to deliver the care, the tools and instruments we use, making sure that we’re giving the best care possible. That’s the whole point of us doing this.
“Now, it’s about us taking the opportunity to actually put everything to paper, and work with the bank to make sure that we actually make a smart investment in our community, as we set out to do.”
Since the original transaction, the new partners have invested substantially in the building, and the practice. Their goal is to bring the facility/practice to a very high standard.
“We want to be excited to invite our friends and families to be patients here,” Kennedy, Jr. said. “We want to reach out to people who love our community, and are looking for dental professionals who care about providing work with integrity and high quality – people who are looking for someone who can help them along with their dental journey.
“So much of it can be confusing. There are questions, like do I need this or that? What’s the best recommendation for this situation? We want people who prefer a dental practice that is deeply rooted in the community and has the benefit of being committed here for the long haul. We are one of those practices.
“Thankfully, there are several practices like that in town, but in the dental world right now, sometimes it’s hard to know – who is the owner? Which dentist works where? Who am I actually going to receive care from?
“We provide full-service general dentistry. We will make referrals for specialized needs; for instance, we would send small children to my pediatric facility.
“We are now reinvesting in the north Clarksville area for another generation of patients. We want to honor the legacy of the dentists who started this practice, and continue that legacy for decades to come. This is one of the oldest continually operating practices in town, and we look forward to serving the next generation.”
Clarksville Dental Center can be contacted by phone at 931.572.9152. A newly updated website is coming soon. CDC is located at 1301 Peachers Mill Road, Clarksville, TN.
