Introducing Dr. Merissa Nelms:

Dr. Nelms is a natural-born perfectionist with an eye for detail. She loves the human connection within dentistry and looks forward to seeing patients to help them achieve better oral health and beautiful smiles each day. She graduated at the top of her class from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Dentistry, earning awards in prosthodontics, and was inducted into the prestigious national dental honor society Omicron Kappa Upsilon.

She completed her undergraduate degree in studio art at the University of Pittsburgh and was awarded for her sculpting abilities. Combining her love for art with her expertise in science, she is board-certified in anaplastology (CCA), a branch of medicine dealing with the prosthetic rehabilitation of absent or malformed parts of the face. She completed her anaplastology training at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine and the Bronx VA Hospital and earned her CCA while working in the Department of Prosthodontics at UCSF.

Dr Nelms believes that learning should be a lifelong commitment, especially in a field as dynamic and evolving as dentistry. She regularly attends the most advanced workshops and conferences, eager to absorb the latest advancements in dental technology and techniques. She looks forward to bringing these new advancements to her patients and continuing the legacy of dental excellence that Dr. Hulsey started in Five Points.

A native New Yorker, Dr. Nelms met her husband while they were both completing their education in Northern California. They are both foodies with a love for the outdoors and traveling. They relocated to Athens where Professor Nelms runs a research lab and teaches plant biology and genetics at The University of Georgia – Go Dawgs! They love the food, art, and music culture that Athens offers and couldn’t imagine a better place to raise their family.