The Joint Chiropractic - Savannah Twelve Oaks

Dr. Whitney Denton was born and raised in Bristol, Tennessee and graduated from Life University in Marietta, Georgia with her Bachelor Degree in Biology, and her Doctorate in Chiropractic.

At the age of 5, I had a traumatic accident where I landed on my neck doing a back handspring, which resulted in chronic migraines for twenty years. I suffered from these migraines every single day, and could only function with pain medicine. After working as an intern for 3 years for a pharmaceutical company, I realized customers were too dependent on drugs to treat their health conditions. One of those customers, unfortunately, was me. I began to look for a healthier option to treat my chronic migraines.

A few years later someone informed me about chiropractic care and how it helps with migraines. During my first encounter with a chiropractor, he manually adjusted my neck and I was headache-free. For the first time in my life, I felt alive! Since that moment, I devoted my life to learning about chiropractic, and how to treat others with similar conditions.

Dr. Denton is pleased and honored to work in the Savannah and Pooler, Georgia area to educate patients on the neurological disorders they face everyday. She hopes to bring knowledge and understanding on how beneficial chiropractic care can be, even at a very young age.

You can find Dr. Denton on her time off enjoying salsa dancing with her boyfriend John and exploring the beautiful city of Savannah. She loves living so close to the Beach and would go everyday if she could.

Dr. Allison B. Arvin, DC joined The Joint in January of 2018. She is originally from the midwest and was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. She obtained her Bachelors degree in Physiology from Michigan State University in 2008 (Go Green!) and her Doctor of Chiropractic Degree from the National University of Health Sciences in Illinois in 2011.

She began practicing chiropractic in 2011 in the Raleigh area of North Carolina where she opened and operated Family First Chiropractic Center in Garner, NC. She has taken post doctoral classes in Webster Technique for pregnant women, Cranial adjusting for pediatric patients, and Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) for low back and neck pain.

While living in NC she met her now husband, Strafer Arvin who is in the US Army. His Army career brought them to Fort Stewart in December of 2017 and they expect to be here several years. They have one daughter, Scarlett Delphine who is 9 months old. Dr. Arvin has been adjusting Scarlett since she was only minutes old and loves being able to keep her aligned as she grows. Dr. Arvin is most passionate when working with pregnant women and children and loves introducing children and infants to chiropractic. "It is amazing what our bodies are capable of when we keep them aligned from a young age. I found chiropractic as an adult and only wish I had known about it sooner." She takes a lot of pride in being a chiropractor and getting to help people improve their health every day. In her free time, Dr. Arvin serves on the board of directors for The Pregnancy Center of Richmond Hill and is actively involved in her church and in the local community. Her family and her are enjoying making new friends as well as getting to know the Savannah area.

Dr. Tonya Harris is a native of a small town, Clarksdale, Mississippi. She attended Mississippi State University where she obtained a Bachelor's of Science degree in biological sciences. Dr. Harris has always known that she has wanted to help others. When she first heard that she could do just that with her hands and the power of an adjustment, she knew she wanted to be a Chiropractor. She received her Doctorate of Chiropractic from Life University in Marietta, GA.

Dr. Tonya's chiropractic story began while she was working on her undergraduate degree. She had suffered from headaches for the majority of her life. She says " I could not remember a time when I didn't get headaches." Chiropractic offered her a solution rather than a temporary bandage to this issue. The idea of removing physiological stressors in the absence of medicine was not widely acknowledged in throughout her life. That information helped change her outlook on health and vitalism. She wanted to spread the philosophy of chiropractic and encourage individuals to take control of their health.

In her spare time, she enjoys shopping, going to concerts, spending time with friends and traveling. One of her most exciting memories was traveling through France with friends while she was in high school. Experiencing different cultural norms is always fascinating to Dr. Harris. Learning about various groups of people around the world highlights many of our similarities we have as people and many of the principles that connect us. Dr. Harris also enjoys spending her spare time giving back to the community and views of her self as a humanitarian. She has participated in Habitat for Humanity for many years, giving her time at several soup kitchens and retirement homes, and volunteered for several community beautification efforts in her hometown.

Dr. Monica Gilbert, D.C. was born in Albany, Georgia. She is native to Southwest Georgia being raised in the small town of Camilla. She graduated from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism in 1995. Interested in broadcasting, Dr. Gilbert began to start a career in the broadcast industry including radio and television editing and voice overs for commercials. Dr. Gilbert realized after a few years in the industry that she wanted to transition in the medical field. Her maternal grandmother spent several decades delivering babies as a midwife. Dr. Gilbert always admired her grandmother for being in healthcare in servitude to others. So, her journey finding the healthcare profession suitable for her began. Dr. Gilbert attended Savannah State University to matriculate in courses such as organic chemistry, biology, and physics which were prerequisite courses for medical and chiropractic college. Her goal was to become a medical physician. Contrary to her desire to be a medical doctor, her instructors recommended chiropractic as a career avenue. Which would she choose?

She was watching a segment on the local Albany news regarding an African American female chiropractor. The first of her ethnicity to practice in Southwest Georgia. Advised by her grandmother to call Dr. Judith Hatch, she made the call and was inspired to be a chiropractor. Dr. Gilbert matriculated and graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida in Port Orange near Daytona Beach in 2007. She learned the techniques of Sacro Occipital, Cox Flexion Distraction, Activator, and Diversified. She has experience in business ownership, personal injury, pediatric, and family practice.

In Case You Didn't Know:

If Dr. Gilbert had a dinner party. She would invite Dr. Martin Luther King, Oprah Winfrey, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Mother Teresa, and Steve Harvey. Steve Harvey would evoke laughter from his comical antics to break up the serious nature of the conversations. By the way, Dr. Gilbert has a comical side to her serious nature as a doctor. Can you guess the youngest patient Dr. Gilbert has ever adjusted? The answer is five days old.

Nakia R. Pinkney, BS, DC, a graduate of Life University College of Chiropractic, joined The Joint Chiropractic February 2018. She is a South Carolina native and attended the University of South Carolina, Aiken where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in biology.

Dr. Pinkney’s passion for chiropractic and caring for patients can be seen in both the Pooler and Savannah, Georgia locations. She believes that chiropractic care is a way for patients to take an active role in their health. She has seen the fascinating miracles the human body can perform when it is functioning properly. Dr. Pinkney takes the role of removing interferences from the body so that it can work to its fullest potential. This is made possible by making specific adjustments to the body’s joints and educating each person about ways to improve their wellbeing.

In her spare time, Dr. Pinkney can be found listening to apple music, relaxing, working out in the gym, or watching basketball games. March Madness is her favorite!

In Case You Didn’t Know

Dr. Pinkney is a basketball fanatic. She grew up active in the Orangeburg, SC community and found her love for basketball at the age 7. She had the privilege of playing for her local middle and high school basketball teams, a traveling AAU team, and 4 years on a basketball and academic scholarship at the University of South Carolina, Aiken.

Yolanda F. Gutierrez Romero was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She studied Physical Education at the University of Puerto Rico. Before graduating her goal was to become a physical therapist. She was in workplace injury at the age of 19. She spent a whole year with the inability to fully feel with her hands. She saw many different doctors and none could do anything for her. She gave chiropractic a chance and since then she wanted to be a chiropractor.

She is a Life University graduate. She moved to Pooler in April to join The Joint Pooler and Savannah teams. She has been amazed at what chiropractic can do for rehabilitation and sport injuries. She finds great pleasure in assisting patients in feeling better and achieving movement without any pain or restrictions.

Her hobbies include: knitting, reading, trying out new restaurants, playing with her pets, and watching movies. Her fridge always has shrimp, cheese, ground beef, and ice cream. The shrimp, cheese, and ground beef are key to making a variety of her favorite dishes. Ice cream is "just the perfect sweet".

The coolest thing she has ever done was snorkeling. She loved seeing a lot of beautiful fish and flora at the bottom of the ocean.