Anna Abernethy, DDS
FOUNDER
Jill Sonner, DDS
DESIGN DIRECTOR
Anita Wells, DDS
FOUNDER
Carli Compton, DMD
ASSOCIATE DENTIST
Dental Artists.
Anna Abernethy, DDS
Owner
Dr. Abernethy grew up in Concord, North Carolina, however, she has called Raleigh "home" for the past 20 years. She came to Raleigh to attend college and graduated from Meredith College Magna Cum Laude in 2001 with a BS in biology and a minor in chemical physics.
Dr. Abernethy was always interested in the medical profession, but was unsure of the direction she wanted to take. The morning of the first day at Meredith College, the right side of her face swelled to the size of a baseball! She needed an emergency root canal and after talking with the endodontist about her professional goals, he helped her to start an externship program at Meredith.
She was able to complete two externships while in college. She would attend regular classes on campus, and then go to a dental office where she had the opportunity to learn more about the profession in a "real-world" setting. She will never forget the first time she was able to see a smile makeover from start to finish.
A patient that had been in a terrible car accident came to the dentist to have their teeth rebuilt where they had been shattered on the steering wheel. Dr. Abernethy was amazed to see the transformation of the patient's self-image after her smile was completely restored! From that moment on, she knew that she wanted to become a dentist.
After completing college, Dr. Abernethy attended and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill Dental School in 2005. While at UNC, she was the co-leader of Give Kids a Smile Day, coordinator of the UNC Head Start Program, and the team captain of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.
After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill, she started working as an associate for another practice. She was fortunate enough to gain a wealth of information from both a business and clinical perspective working as an associate. She knew, however, that she wanted to create a different style of practice that allowed her to have more time with each patient and give them more options than what she was able to do while working for someone else.
Jill Sonner, DDS
Owner
Dr. Sonner was born and raised in Raleigh NC, and she attended both UNC Wilmington and North Carolina State University. She received her undergraduate degree from NCSU in 1999 with high honors, obtaining a BS in Biological Sciences. During college she supported research staff at NIEHS and performed an independent study focusing on Diabetes.
She is also a graduate of UNC Dental School. She continued her dental education following dental school by attending a residency program at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center. Here she gained skill in treating medically compromised and geriatric patients, as well as learned advanced surgery techniques and surgical implant placement.
Dr. Sonner recently obtained Fellowship with The International Dental Implant Association under the direction of Dr. Arun Garg who is world renowned for his program. Dr Sonner as well as Dr. Abernethy and Wells completed a mission trip to the Dominica Republic with Dr. Garg where along with 40 other doctors donated the equivalent of 2 million dollars in dental implant surgeries. This provides teeth to natives that would otherwise never have the opportunity to gain chewing function again.
Anita Wells, DDS
Owner
Dr. Anita Wells is a North Carolina native who grew up in the Pinehurst area where she developed her passion to become a dentist. Her childhood dentist made such a positive lasting impression that from the time she was 4 years old she used to beg her parents to go to the dentist! He displayed compassion, kindness and commitment to personally knowing her accomplishments, school activities, hopes and dreams all the way through high school. His skill and attention to detail helped to create a beautiful smile that was truly life changing and transformational.
Dr. Wells spent her high school summers observing his artistic skills and his kind personal relationships with patients, and it influenced her to pursue a career in dentistry. She watched so many people change from fearful or shy and lacking confidence to vibrant and excited about their new smile.
Through these experiences, she developed a lasting passion to change people’s lives for the better with this personal connection and the art of creating a beautiful smile.
Dr. Wells is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she completed both her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry Magna Cum Laude and her Doctor of Dental Surgery, with the highest honors.
She practiced in Chapel Hill prior to starting her own practice in Raleigh. Dr Wells knew the kind of excellence and level of quality she wanted to provide to her patients. She and her partners spent 2 years developing the perfect patient experience prior to opening Renaissance Dental Center in 2009.
Carli Compton, DMD
Associate Dentist
Dr. Carli Compton was born and raised in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She moved to Raleigh to attend Meredith College and pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a dentist. While at Meredith, she was the President of the pre-health honor society and founded programs that mirrored Bridge the Gap at UNC to help students matriculate into professional programs. It was also during her undergraduate degree she met Dr.’s Abernethy, Sonner and Wells and completed a 1-year internship before graduating.
Following her graduation, she was trained by Renaissance Dental Center to chair side assist while pursuing a master’s degree in Physiology at North Carolina State University. After completing her degree, she learned the business side of dentistry with RDC before moving to Greenville, NC in July 2018 to start Dental School. Dr. Compton graduated from ECU School of Dental Medicine and moved back to Raleigh to partner with what she feels is the “best” patient experience and highest standard of care available. She looks forward to growing and learning with a practice that is continuously striving to provide every patient with the best possible care.