The Story Behind Dr. Twana Duncan Donating Playground Equipment for 25th Anniversary
Dr. Twana Duncan, DDS of Antlers Family Dentist, PC has donated playground equipment to the Little People’s Park in Antlers in celebration of the 25th anniversary of her practice being in Antlers. “This is actually our 27th year serving Southeast Oklahoma, but due to Covid restrictions and the challenging year of 2020, we have not been able to celebrate as we had previously wanted to, so I thought what better way to say THANK YOU to our community than to donate equipment that will directly impact the children in our area, many of whom are my patients and have become family throughout the years.” Dr Duncan states.
After opening in 1994, Antlers Family Dentist has evolved from 3 employees to 24, employing both full time and part time staff from several different counties and ensuring the success of young men and women who are seeking either a permanent career or an educational learning experience in the dental field. AFD has former employees who have graduated as Nurses, Lawyers, Doctors, Hygienists, Dentists, Local business owners, and teachers, as Dr. Duncan encourages each of her team members to pursue and achieve their highest goals. Each year, Dr. Duncan and her staff donate to over 25 schools in SE Oklahoma as well as volunteering time or funds to the Special Olympics, Oklahoma Missions of Mercy, Oklahoma Veterans Dental Care, The D Dent Program, The Pushmataha County Foster Care Association, CASA and The House of Joy.
Dr. Twana and her husband, Jack, are proud parents to their blended family of 4 children, 5 grandchildren, and several grand dogs and cats. Caleb Smith, set to graduate from the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry in May 2022, and 2013 graduate of Antlers High School, will be joining the practice in June of next year and is excited for the opportunity to come home and work in an area that is so special to him, “I am looking forward to starting my career in Southeast Oklahoma, especially in Push County”, Smith says, “This area is in constant need of healthcare and medical professionals, our access to care is definitely smaller than Oklahoma residents who live in more densely populated cities, because of this, it has always been important to remember our roots and come back home.” Dr. Twana’s daughter, Dr. Kaitlyn Werner, Antlers High School class of 2010, is an internal medicine doctor in Paris, Texas and has seen firsthand her mother’s dedication to Pushmataha county, “We have always been taught that charity and giving back starts at home, that is why it was so important to me to move back from Florida with my family and start my practice in Paris, because my mom always showed us the importance of community, and Antlers is a community that I will always cherish, I learned so many lessons growing up here, but more importantly, it’s the people who make it worth coming back to.”
Dr. Duncan will continue to serve Antlers and the surrounding areas in both the dental field, and advocating for patients’ rights with members of both the Oklahoma Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives through the Oklahoma Dental Association, “For too long this has been the forgotten part of the state by those in the Capitol, my main goal now is ensuring that this generation and future generations have the ability to receive quality affordable care, and to have access to that care, it takes me and my team hours of lobbying, letter writing, and multiple trips to the city each year, but it is WORTH it because our children are our future, and we have to continue to fight for them.”
Dr. Duncan would like to personally thank her team, her family and each one of you who have been her patient throughout the years and is looking forward to serving you for another 25 years!