Two Dothan orthodontists who recently took over a local practice say they love Andalusia’s small town feel.

“It all kind of started when my partner, Dr. Tee McClimans, heard about Dr. Philip C. Hardee’s retirement,” Dr. Katie Miller said.

“We touched base with Dr. Hardee and it went from there.”

Miller and McClimans, who own separate practices in Dothan, teamed up to take over Hardee’s old practice.

“I knew Dr. McClimans because we are both from the Dothan area and we have always got along great. He’s a great orthodontist and we both share the same philosophies for treatment plans,” Miller said.

Hardee’s practice was located at 1104 Sanford Road. The new practice, Smiles First Orthodontics, is now housed in the same building.

Miller said the transition started early in March.

To make it easier on the both of them for travel, Miller and McClimans spend one day a week at the office.

“Once we took over the practice we started incorporating some updates. We have electronic charting,” she said.

“It’s all computerized with Cloud-based software that allows us to look at information anywhere as long as we have an Internet connection.”

Because they took over the practice, they also resumed treatment for Hardee’s prior patients.

“So far, we really enjoy the area. We’ve been trying to get more and more involved with the community and become more familiar with our surroundings,” Miller said.

Not only have the two taken over for the Andalusia office, but they also took over Hardee’s Monroeville office as well.

“We’re centered around patient care and quality,” Miller said.

“The great thing about this area is that we service all kinds of patients from all over the county.”

Miller said that bringing quality orthodontics to the area is their main goal.

Miller was born and reared in Dothan. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Auburn University. She then moved to Birmingham to start her dental career at the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Dentistry. After graduating in 2010, she went on to attend the orthodontic specialty program at the University of Florida College of Dentistry. Miller and her husband, Lane, have two children, Metz and Lucy.

McClimans has been in orthodontics since 2000. He earned his degree from the University of Alabama in Birmingham and completed specialized training in orthodontics at Nova Southeastern University. He is a member of the American Association of Orthodontists, American Dental Association, and the Southern Association of Orthodontists. McClimans and his wife have three daughters.