Popular Corbin dentist retiring, but says practice is in good hands

Dr. Katherine Whitaker is taking over the Corbin practice of Dr. Keith Gibson.

For popular Corbin dentist Keith Gibson, the road to an early retirement started at NIBROC.

Dr. Gibson had asked one of his patients if he knew a good dentist that could possibly take over his practice. Just so happens, he did. The wife of one of the patient’s best friends was a dentist.

The two played volleyball together annually at the festival’s volleyball tournament.

“It’s just something they did. I’ve been to NIBROC a bunch of times,” said Dr. Katherine Whitaker.

The Bardstown native, who eventually did take over Dr. Gibson’s Main Street practice, said she wasn’t really looking to make a move. She had a lucrative job at a large dental clinic in Tennessee, but the idea was tempting. She liked the general feel of the Corbin community, and had heard it had good schools and was a great place to raise a family.

“I was at a big practice, but it wasn’t really the life I wanted for myself,” she said. “I wanted something small and to have more personal connections. When this fell into our laps, I thought I might as well take a look at it. That look turned into a second look, and then a visit. It was just one open door after another.”

Gibson, who has practiced dentistry in Corbin for 26 years, said he’s gotten many questions from patients about why he’s retiring. He’s only 53-years-old. He’s healthy and happy.

Gibson said the reason is simple. He wants to spend more time with his 16-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter.

“When you have kids later in life, they are a blessing, but it just wears you down trying to be involved in everything they are doing,” Gibson said.

“Dentistry is pretty much all I did the first part of my life, and now it’s to the point with the kids that it’s their time,” he said. “When I would leave here and rush to get to games and other things, I never really felt like I was enjoying them the way I should. I think it was time for me to step aside. It just felt right.”

But Gibson didn’t just want to turn over his practice to anyone. Every move was cautious at first.

“It just kept going through one hoop after the other, and I kept thinking maybe this is meant to be,” Gibson said. “Once I saw her work in the office, it felt perfect. A lot of my nerves and worries were eliminated.”

Whitaker completed her undergraduate studies at Georgetown College and after graduated from the University of Kentucky School of Dentistry. She said patients have been very positive and understanding for the most part about the transition. Gibson’s practice has about 1,500 active patients.

“There’s some hesitancy, but for the most part people have been super nice. I feel like I’ve been nothing but welcomed,” Whitaker said.

Whitaker said she hopes to bring new services to the practice, including IV sedation dentistry.

“It’s a blessing to have someone here with her skill,” Gibson said. “I feel at peace knowing she is here taking care of everything. It was just meant to be.”

Gibson is currently finishing up seeing his patients.

He said he’s considered still working after retirement, including teaching at the University of Kentucky and seeing patients in nursing homes to see if they are getting proper dental care, but doubts he will do anything right away.