A Dental Experience Built
Around You

Dr. Charles Liggett grew up in Fort Smith, attending Kimmons Junior High and Northside High School. He then went on to The University of Central Arkansas, in Conway, where he played shortstop for the baseball team and had a double major in General Science and Criminology. After his baseball career was over, he attended the Louisiana State University School of Dentistry, in New Orleans, where he earned his Doctorate of Dental Surgery. While at LSU, Dr. Liggett was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work directly under some of the most well-respected dentists and specialists in the world. Upon graduation, he moved back to Fort Smith and met the love of his life, his wife, Heather Anderson Liggett, who is a pediatric dental hygienist. They have two beautiful daughters together, Emery who is 18 and attending the University of Arkansas as a pre-dental major, and Piper who is 16 and a junior at Fort Smith Southside.

For Dr. Liggett, dentistry runs in the family. In the past, he enjoyed working with his uncle and cousin at Parklane Family Dental. Dr. Liggett then went on to open River Valley Smile Center with Dr. Becker to provide comprehensive high-quality dentistry for the Fort Smith community. When Dr. Becker moved to South Carolina to specialize in Endodontics, Dr. Liggett started a partnership with Dr. Cole Johnson. They soon built the beautiful, state-of-the-art facility that they practice out of at the current time.

This community is very important to Dr. Liggett. He founded the Weekend Dental Clinic and the Free Extraction Day to provide those in need with free or affordable dental care. The Free Extraction day has been featured on Fox News, in the Chicago Tribune, the LA Times, among other publications. The idea for these projects stemmed from his many dental mission trips to Jamaica (26 to date). Over the course of nearly a decade, Dr. Liggett has extracted thousands upon thousands of teeth and his team has made thousands of dentures and performed a countless number of cleanings. He holds a special place in his heart for the Jamaican community as well. Another issue Dr. Liggett takes very serious is Child Abuse. He has organized and moderated discussions for the local dental community, with experts on the subject, to better recognize and prevent child abuse and neglect.

Dr. Liggett is proud to have been an adjunct faculty member of the University of Arkansas Fort Smith’s Dental Hygiene School, where he taught senior students in the clinical environment. He sits on the University of Arkansas Fort Smith Athletic Advisory Board, is past-president of the Fort Smith Dental Association, a member of the Fort Smith Dental Association Executive Committee, President of the Northwest Arkansas Dental Society, a member of the American Dental Association, elected member of the Executive Council for the Arkansas State Dental Association, American Orthodontic Society, Academy of General Dentistry, Jamaican Ecumenical Mutual Mission, St Augustine Mutual Mission, the Independent Physicians Alliance, the Academy of General Dentistry, and the Academy for Sports Dentistry. Additionally, he is a member of the Fort Smith Boys and Girls Club Alumni Association, official team dentist to the UAFS, Northside, and Kimmons.

In April of 2013, Dr. Liggett was inducted as a fellow into the prestigious Pierre Fauchard Academy. PFA is an organization that focuses on professionalism, integrity, and ethics worldwide. Less than 1% of dentists in the United States have been elected into this elite group.

In March of 2014, Dr. Liggett was elected to sit on Delta Dental’s Dental Advisory Committee. This gives Dr. Liggett a chance to communicate, directly to those in charge of the state’s largest insurance carrier, ways to improve the current status quo.

In October of 2014, Dr. Liggett was inducted as a fellow into the International College of Dentists. The ICD is the oldest and largest international honor society for dentists in the world. There are over 12,000 members in 122 countries.

In April of 2015, Dr. Liggett was presented with a Community Service Award from radio station KISR. The same month he was given the New Dentist Award for exemplifying outstanding leadership in varied levels of organized dentistry and for his commitment to represent dentistry in an ethical manner.

In November of 2015, Dr. Liggett was inducted into the American College of Dentists. The American College of Dentists (ACD) is the oldest major honorary organization for dentists.

In 2018, Dr. Liggett graduated from the Kois Center.

Dr. Liggett is elated to be back in Fort Smith where he focuses his free time on playing the drums in a local band, attending concerts and music festivals, CrossFit, playing golf, cheering on the Arkansas Razorbacks and Miami Dolphins, and has a weekly sports segment on ESPN radio.