Dr. Kenneth Carter, a 2020 graduate of Meharry’s School of Dentistry and the first Meharrian accepted into the University of Michigan’s world-renowned orthodontics program shares how opportunity and intentional mentorship can transform a student’s life trajectory.
Dr. Kenneth Carter is many things to many people. He’s a board-certified orthodontist, a mentor, a researcher, and a co-owner of RRC Orthodontics. Above it all, Carter is a shining example of how visibility and community support can shape the future of dental education and health care leadership.
From the South Side of Chicago to Orthodontic Leadership
Carter begins by honoring the person who shaped his foundation most: his mother.
“I’m born and raised on the south side of Chicago — raised by a single mother, a very, very tenacious and resilient single mother,” he shares.
His mother worked full time, attended night school, and became the first in their family to earn a college degree — modeling for Carter perseverance and redefining what was possible.
“People don’t always necessarily think about family or parents when they think about that word, but for many of us we should,” he says. “She was the first representation of mentorship to me.”
A full academic scholarship to the University of Wisconsin–Madison introduced him to dentistry, and joining Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. deepened his commitment to service, leadership, and professional excellence.
After an internship at Morehouse College, he worked at the CDC, where another pivotal connection changed his life.
“Dr. Ruben Warren was a big influence on how I ended up, not only within dentistry, but at Meharry specifically.” Carter recalls being told, “You’re supposed to be at Meharry. That is where he’s supposed to be and we need to make sure that we get you there.”
Weekly calls, application guidance, and affirmations laid the foundation for Carter’s next chapter.
Finding His Calling in Orthodontics
Carter strengthened his clinical foundation at Meharry, and then pursued his orthodontic residency at the University of Michigan.
“I received phenomenal, world-class training,” he says. “Specifically, I think what drew me into that path of orthodontics, and ironically, is connected to that path of mentorship.”
While refining his specialty training at Michigan, it became clear to Carter his love of orthodontics was rooted in something deeper than just the biomechanics.
“The humanistic portion of it is definitely the biggest appeal to me,” he explains. “The psychosocial influence that you could potentially have over an individual’s experience, particularly those that are oftentimes in the coming of age period where things can be awkward and uncomfortable.”
Being able to create and advocate a sense of self-assuredness through a confident smile is something Carter prides himself on offering his clients, now as a practicing orthodontist and co-owner of RRC Orthodontics, a five location practice in the Greater Chicago land area.
Another Call to Action
Though he didn’t know it at the time, Carter was a trailblazer at U-M.
“Not only was I the first Meharrian to be accepted into their ortho program, I was also only the seventh or eighth black man to be in the program as well.”
The University of Michigan offers the oldest degree-awarding orthodontic program in the world, and for Carter, that statistic was shocking.
“When I hear single digit numbers of admittance for black men in school programs, my antennas go up,” he says. “What is it that is causing or has led to this historic under-numbering?”
While admittedly an accomplishment for Meharry, Carter believes it was also a personal call to action. He urges institutions to confront inequitable admissions patterns and stresses the importance of cultivating environments where underrepresented students can thrive.
At the University of Michigan, Carter’s master’s thesis focused on pathway programs that increase dental school enrollment for underrepresented students. He evaluated national models like SHPEP, HCOP and Michigan’s Profile for Success program.
His key finding: “Programs that had high success rates also had a piece of mentorship that were interwoven into the fabric of their curriculum.”
Black dentists represent only 3.8% of the dental workforce yet care for about 60% of all Black patients in the U.S. “We have to find ways and strategize ways to make sure that we have proper representation for people that need us.”
“More often than I’d like to see, I’ve observed people that look like me transform in ways that culturally isolate them from the very people that they might’ve been trailblazing for,” he says. “But representation matters.”
Reflecting back to his practising of affirmations, he believes visualizing a goal holds both power and responsibility.
“You need to be able to see the things that you aim or achieve to be, but you need the representation to be authentic.”
He celebrates Meharry for being a place where “we can bring our whole person to work every day,” a rarity in professional spaces.
Mentoring the Next Generation
One of Carter’s proudest achievements began through a Meharry service event that blossomed into a long-term mentorship program with two middle school boys in Nashville.
“We would do different activities and help them academically with different study sessions,” he shares. “And it became so routine that a lot of our classmates had become accustomed to seeing them in the libraries.”
Modeling good behavior was a transformative experience for them, he says, “with Black men that we weren’t sure if they were seeing otherwise.”
“They truly became our little brothers,” Carter says, recalling the importance of family support like he had. “It’s important to highlight the families as well. They played a crucial role in ensuring the routineness of our visits and our time together because they saw the value in the program.”
Pull While You Climb
Mentoring, Carter explains, doesn’t just uplift students — it can transform the mentor as well. “Sometimes when you’re ministering to other people, you minister to yourself,” he says.
“At one point in time you were in that same space. And what it does for me at least, is to make this space that I’m in now a little bit more tenable for them with the hopes of them achieving it as well.”
Carter’s advice to future leaders is simple: seek out both peer and professional mentors.
“There’s no success in silos,” he stresses. “The same way that someone has inspired you, you are that for someone else as well. So be sure to continue to pull someone up while you climb.”
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