About Interfaith Dental

Interfaith Dental is a volunteer-driven nonprofit agency that helps vulnerable populations achieve and sustain a healthy smile.  


If you would like to learn how your support can contribute to this mission, click on schedule a tour and we would love to share the impact a healthy smile and life can make!  

Mission

The mission of Interfaith Dental Clinic is to create a healthier community by providing transformational oral health care for those experiencing poverty.

Vision

Interfaith Dental Clinic’s vision is that every individual has the opportunity to achieve and sustain a healthy smile.

History

After doing volunteer dentistry in third-world countries, our founder Dr. Tom Underwood realized that there were hardworking people right here in Middle Tennessee that were in just as desperate need of dental care but could not afford it. With the help of the Nashville Dental Society and the Outreach Commission of West End United Methodist Church, Dr. Underwood initiated Interfaith Dental Clinic in November 1994 to provide affordable dental care for working poor families and the elderly who fall between the cracks of private practice and public healthcare.

The clinic started with a two-chair operation and one employee in the basement of West End United Methodist Church. In 1998, Interfaith Dental Clinic moved to 1721 Patterson Street and in 2012 opened a satellite clinic in Murfreesboro to serve the Rutherford County community. In 2019, the clinic expanded and moved into its current location at 600 Hill Avenue.  The clinics have 26 operatories and state-of-the-art equipment.

Who We Are

Dr. Tom Underwood

Dr. Thomas S. Underwood has spent more than three decades providing humanitarian service to people in need of dental care.

Dr. Underwood first volunteered overseas. He spent a month—including Christmas Eve 1975—volunteering in a dental clinic in an Israeli kibbutz. Only five years out of dental school at that time, young Dr. Underwood felt compelled to serve and his humanitarian calling took him around the globe for nearly 20 years to volunteer in places from Jamaica and Honduras to Kenya and Zambia.

“Then I realized how many people in my own state had worse oral health than the people I was treating outside the United States,” said Dr. Underwood. “So I thought we ought to do something right here, in a setting where we could follow up with patients and offer comprehensive dental care.”

With support from the Nashville Dental Society and the outreach commission of the West End United Methodist Church, Dr. Underwood founded the Nashville Interfaith Dental Clinic in 1994. The clinic’s original home was in the church’s basement.

“In the past 13 years, thanks to Dr. Underwood’s passion and commitment, Interfaith Dental Clinic has grown from a small, part-time clinic located in a church basement to a dental program that owns its own 7,500 sq. ft. facility, has 35 employees, uses more than 250 volunteers, and provides comprehensive, affordable dental care to more than 1,200 patients each year,” said Interfaith Dental Clinic CEO Dr. Rhonda Switzer-Nadasdi.

Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors serves a vital purpose here at Interfaith Dental. Each of our members offers their services to us in the spirit of helping us build smiles, one patient at a time.

Rutherford County Advisory Council

Our Advisory Council serves as ambassadors in the Rutherford County region.  They are invaluable to bridging connections so the mission is fulfilled.  

Brant Beard

Parrallon

Mike Brooks

All State Insurance

Aaron Clifford

Press Ganey

Justin Coury

Chair
Tristar Hendersonville

Dr. Katrina Eagilen

DentaQuest

Dr. Ruth Ross Edmonds

Vice-Chair
Orthodontist

Vicki Estrin

Ankura

Dr. Heather Fagin

General Dentist

Jenny Freeland

Community Volunteer

Bracey Halbrook

HCA Healthcare

Dr. Andrew Harris

General Dentist

Cornell Kennedy

Attorney

Menda Kincaid

Delta Dental of Tennessee

Jonathan Martinez

RC Matthews

Amber Matz

Young Leaders Council Intern
Capstar Bank

Ryan McCormick

Rutherford County Advisory Chair

Jeff Newton

Past Board Chair
Delta Dental of Tennessee

Jennifer Perkins

Nuna

Dr. John Shea

Oral Surgeon

Margaret Smith

Medical Accounts Management

Justin Stapler

Deloitte

Brian Swenson

HCA Healthcare

Alex Tkachenko

Young Leaders Council Intern
US Bank

Mallory Yoder

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Dr. Tom Underwood

Lifetime Member
General Dentist

Dr. Rhonda Switzer-Nadasdi

Interfaith CEO

Dr. Jeffrey Bell

Endodontist

Dr. JoKeidre Butler

General Dentist

Dr. Jim Calder

Retired, MTSU

Dr. Walter Chitwood

General Dentist

Dr. Jay Davis

General Dentist

Dr. Brian Gray

Murfreesboro Medical Center

Dr. Ben Jamison

General Dentist

Dr. Rachel Johnson

General Dentist

Ryan McCormick

Guaranty Trust

Joanne O'Connell

General Mills

Dr. Roy Thompson, D.D.S.

General Dentist

Dr. Kaci Turner

General Dentist

Veda White

CAT Financial

Michelle Russell

Interfaith Dental

Dr. Rhonda Switzer-Nadasdi

Interfaith Dental

YOU can make a difference.

Interfaith Dental is a volunteer driven nonprofit agency that helps vulnerable populations achieve and sustain a healthy smile.