Get to Know Us!
About East Texas Children’s Dentistry
Being located in Mt. Pleasant, TX, we see children from the entire East Texas area, with some patients traveling from Oklahoma and Arkansas for their pediatric dental care!
Our History
East Texas Children’s Dentistry was started from scratch in 2002 by Dr. Thompson himself. We were at our original location for 14 years before moving to our current location in Mt. Pleasant in 2016. We moved up from three operative rooms to five and two hygiene rooms to six. We see children from infants up through high school age. The exception is if the patient is special needs, we will see them for life!
Meet Our Team
Dr. Kenny C. Thompson (Dr. Kenny)
Dr. Kenny C. Thompson grew up in Sulphur Springs, Texas. He attended Texas Tech University for his undergrad degree. Following graduation, Dr. Thompson attended Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, Texas where he graduated with honors. He then completed an additional two years of training in pediatric dentistry at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas and Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. He obtained his specialty degree in 2002 and started his pediatric dental practice in Mount Pleasant, Texas.
Dr. Thompson maintains his affiliations with Children’s Medical Center and Texas Scottish Rite hospitals. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the American Dental Association, and the First District Dental Society of Texas. Most of his patients know him simply as “Dr. Kenny.” He works closely with the local Head Start, Migrant, and Communities in Schools programs which serve underprivileged children in our area. He was elected Volunteer of the Year in 2007 by the Communities in School’s program and accepted his award at the State Capital in Austin, Texas.
He and his wife Delann have four children, two girls and two boys. Dr. Thompson enjoys all outdoor activities and helping others in his free time. He stays busy with his children and their activities including baseball, cheer, hunting and fishing.
Dr. Rebecca Ball (Dr. Becca)
Dr. Becca Ball joined East Texas Children’s Dentistry in 2009. Both she and her husband graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School and are proud to be back in East Texas. Dr. Ball obtained her undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University. Upon graduation from Texas Tech, Dr. Ball attended Baylor College of Dentistry where she graduated with a Doctorate of Dental Surgery degree in 2000. After graduating from Baylor, Dr. Ball and her family returned to Lubbock where she practiced general restorative and children’s dentistry for 9 years before joining the East Texas Children’s Dentistry family.
Dr. Ball is a member of the American Dental Association, Texas Dental Association, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and the American Society of Dental Anesthesiology. She served as a delegate to the Texas Dental Association, as well as on the Ethic and Judicial committee for two years.
Dr. Ball is thrilled to be able to return to Mt. Pleasant to practice children’s dentistry in her hometown. She and her husband Tim have four beautiful children.
Amy Orren, RDH
Amy obtained a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene from Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry in 1996 with the desire to one day have the opportunity to work in pediatrics. She has been a member of our team since 2004, and has thoroughly enjoyed providing dental care and teaching children the lifelong importance of good dental hygiene. Outside of work, Amy enjoys spending quality time with her family. Together she and her husband have six children, a daughter in law, and 2 happy golden doodles.
Lynn Cooper, RDH
Lynn has been on the ETCD team for almost 20 years, beginning in 2003. She attended the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the Caruth School of Dental Hygiene in 1975. Lynn is married to Dr. Robert Cooper, a retired oral surgeon and has 2 adult children. She and her husband take great delight in their 5 grandsons and attending their activities.
Shelby Beaty, RDH
Shelby graduated from Tyler Junior College with an Associates Degree in Applied Science Dental Hygiene in 1999, and she is a member of the Sigma Phi Alpha Dental Hygiene Honor Society. She joined our team in 2006. Shelby has been working in the field of dentistry for over 23 years. She is married with one son and one daughter. In her spare time, she enjoys time with family and friends.
Angela Hernandez, RDH
Angela graduated from NTCC with an Associates of Applied Science, Dental Hygiene in 2014 and has been working for Dr. Kenny since graduation. She is compassionate about educating her patients and loves making sure they have a great dental experience.
In her spare time, she and her husband, Ramon, enjoy traveling, dining out at new restaurants, attending the sporting events of their 3 children, two daughters and a son; and spending quality time with family and friends.
Emily Parr, RDH
Emily began working with our team in 2020. She graduated in 2015 from Northeast Texas Community College with an Associates Degree in Applied Science Dental Hygiene and has been working in pediatrics since graduation. Emily is married and has one daughter. She enjoys all things outdoors and spending quality time with close family and friends.
Darlene Tuck, RDA
Darlene graduated from Texas State Technical College in 1979 with an Associates degree in Dental Assisting. She joined our team in 2004 and has over 43 years of experience. She loves working with children and feels that this is her most rewarding experience in dentistry. Darlene is married with one daughter named Alyssa and a furbaby named Livi. She enjoys fishing, camping, and cooking in Dutch ovens.
Valerie Corbin, RDA, Social Media Content Creator
Valerie graduated from San Antonio College in 2008 with an Associate’s Degree of Applied Science in Dental Assisting. She joined our team in 2009 and has over 15 years of dental experience. Valerie and her husband are blessed with three beautiful and very active children. She enjoys crafting, traveling, being outdoors, going to the gym, and spending time with her family.
Erika Marquez, RDA/Patient Coordinator
Erika obtained her Dental Assistant license in 2015 and has been working with our team since 2016. Shoe loves meeting and greeting our patients and parents. She enjoys spending time with her family and walks with her dog, Luna
Eileen Hernandez, RDA
Eileen has been with our practice since 2019. She is a registered dental assistant who graduated from Vista College in 2019. Eileen loves working with children. When she is not at work, she loves working out, shopping, cooking, baking, and spending quality time with family and friends.
Carla Buendia, RDA
Delann Thompson, Business Manager
Amanda Sauceda, Office Manager
Amanda has been back with our practice since February 2022, but has been involved with the practice over 10 years total. She is happily married with four bonus children and a boxer furbaby named Loki. Amanda loves watching the Cincinnati Bengals play football, cooking, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Crystal Zuniga, Patient Coordinator
Crystal has been with our team since 2010. She looks forward to interacting with the patients and their parents each day. In her spare time, she enjoys sharing time with her family, traveling and shopping.
Kim Cook, Patient Coordinator
Kim has been in dentistry for over 24 years. She loves spending time with her family and stays busy with her four grandchildren. She enjoys speaking to the children at the office because they say the funniest things! Her favorite quote is “it’s a good day to be a good day”.
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Tour Our Office
Learn more about our services and call 903-577-9900 to schedule an appointment.