Meet Dr. Nicole Kniffin

Dr. Nicole Kniffin has been practicing dentistry since 2005 and joined our team at Hite Family Dentistry in May 2022. She earned her undergraduate degree at Eastern Illinois University and her Doctor of Dental Medicine from Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine, then completed an Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency at Scott Air Force Base. That residency put a wide range of cases in front of her early on, and more than twenty years of practice since mean that whatever is happening with your teeth, she has almost certainly seen it before.

She chose dentistry because of her mother, who spent 42 years in the medical field helping people when they needed it most. That example still drives her work. What she wants from your appointment is simple: that you understand what is happening, that you stay comfortable, and that you leave better off than when you walked in.

Anxious patients are the ones Dr. Kniffin most wants to see. If you have avoided care because of fear, a rough past experience, or embarrassment about the current condition of your teeth, she has heard it all and judges none of it. She works at your pace, explains each step before it happens, and uses nitrous oxide, oral sedation, or IV sedation when that makes the visit easier to get through. Helping you complete treatment you once thought was out of reach is the part of her work she is proudest of.

What she values most about working here is the people beside her. She describes our team as a group who genuinely enjoy helping patients, and that is difficult to fake for long in a dental office. You tend to notice it in how calmly a visit runs.

Outside the office, Dr. Kniffin travels, hikes, sews, and reads, and she is active in her church, Hope Chapel. She goes to see her favorite musicians and comedians whenever they come through the area. Two things you might not guess about her: she and her family occasionally work together on a hosta farm, and she knows the lyrics to a remarkable number of songs.

If it has been years since your last cleaning, Dr. Kniffin is a good place to start. Come see her at our Edwardsville office, and we will take your first visit one step at a time.