THERE ARE no limits to what you can achieve, especially when your purpose is bigger than yourself. For Paul Nawiesniak, that purpose — his “why” — has always been veterans. The people who raised their right hand and answered the call, only to return to a system that sometimes forgets them. For Nawiesniak, a retired Air Force dentist who spent 28 years in uniform, forgetting is not an option.
Nawiesniak was born into a blue-collar family in Illinois. He had no road map for success, but he did have determination. After graduating from dental school in the early 1980s, interest rates hovered near 18%, and with no generational wealth or collateral, banks wouldn’t help him.
He remembers walking out of one interview demoralized, until a professor pulled him aside.
“Do you have anything against the military?” the mentor asked.
Nawiesniak didn’t. He’d briefly worked with the Army ROTC during undergrad. The professor encouraged him to join a little-known program led by a founder of the Academy of General Dentistry, and that recommendation changed everything.
In 1986, Nawiesniak joined the Air Force.
Nearly three decades of learning, advancing, leading, and serving followed, from small remote bases to the Pentagon. Along the way, he completed a rare two-year residency, becoming board-certified and designated as a “comprehensive care” dentist. That training empowered him to treat complex cases, often in places where referral wasn’t an option.
“I really enjoyed that practice,” he said. “It increased the spectrum of patients I could treat and deepened the complexity of care I could provide.”
He was a flight commander, a battle planner, and a logistician. He deployed on humanitarian missions across the Caribbean. He designed clinics, ran top-ranked facilities, and eventually retired from The Pentagon, but none of it ever eclipsed his heart for people.
After retiring, Nawiesniak thought life might slow down. But it didn’t. In 2014, he purchased and later built his own dental practice, Patriot Dental. True to its name, the practice’s mission was trust and dignity. It was a chance to give veterans what they deserved — access, understanding, and quality care.
Through a partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Care program, they can make that mission a reality for disabled veterans. Patients must be referred through the VA, but once they are, they find a team committed to honoring their service with the care they deserve.
“We were approached by Community Care [VA initiative] and they said that the dental clinics available nationally and in Murfreesboro are woefully understaffed,” said Elaine Nawiesniak, Paul’s wife and the former office manager.
“They did not have a dental hygienist at the time. They were looking for community partners to help the veterans get the care they needed. We looked into it, and it aligned with who we are and our core values. And being a veteran family, we learned to take care of our own as much as possible.”
And they have. Through their partnership with the VA, Patriot Dental now provides critical dental care to disabled veterans, many of whom have waited years for services they desperately need.
“It’s a bond,” said Paul. “And just because you’re no longer wearing a uniform, it doesn’t mean that you don’t still have that community and, to a certain point, that reliance on each other. The military learns to take care of itself.”
He’s seen the tears when a veteran sees their smile restored for the first time in decades. He’s heard their stories — some visible, some hidden. He reminds his team that every veteran is someone’s son or daughter and that behind many of their smiles are wounds we cannot see.
“The neat thing about this particular area is that Tennessee has a lot of veterans who stepped up when the country called, and I think they deserve the benefits they’re entitled to.”
Paul understands that service doesn’t stop with retirement. For him and Elaine, it simply took on a new shape. These days, it means showing up, listening well, and making sure the people who gave so much aren’t left behind.
The change you can create is limitless, especially when love of country meets love of people. GN
Call (615) 444-2034 for more information. Address: 99 Signature Pl., Lebanon, TN 37087
