Meet the Doctor

Douglas Beckham, D.M.D.

Dr. Beckham is very proud to be a second-generation dentist. His father, Leonard Green Beckham, Jr., was also a dentist, graduating from Emory University in Atlanta in 1951. His father practiced in Atlanta until 1961 when he moved family and practice to West Point, Mississippi to be closer to his aging parents.

As Dr. Beckham went through high school in West Point, Mississippi, he can remember many nightly trips with his father to his office to treat classmates who had had some type of dental trauma. It was these many trips, as well as working in his father’s office periodically, which nurtured his interest in the dental profession.

When he started his undergraduate studies at Mississippi State University in 1968, it became clear that there really was no other field to pursue except a pre-dental curriculum, ending with a B.S. degree in 1971.

After four years at the University of Alabama School of Dentistry in Birmingham, he earned the Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in 1976.

Dr. Beckham strives to continue to learn all he can about the ever-changing field of dentistry, attending about 60 hours of continuing education every year while the state requires only 20 hours per year. Most hours are attained through Birmingham Comprehensive Dental Seminars, which is an affiliate of the most successful dental study club in the nation, the Seattle Study Club.

He is a member of the Birmingham District Dental Society, the Alabama Dental Association, the American Dental Association, and the Academy of General Dentistry. On July 19, 2003, Dr. Beckham became a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry. This distinction is earned by fewer than 10 percent of the dentists in the U.S. as it requires over 500 hours of recent continuing education and a written examination. In February 2007, Dr. Beckham was asked to serve on the Board of Directors for the Alabama Academy of General Dentistry. The following January, he was asked to be treasurer and is still serving in that position.

Dr. Beckham truly has a passion for helping people through dentistry and still looks forward to seeing his patients and the challenges that they present. He strives to be on the cutting edge of dentistry in order to offer his patients the highest quality of care.

Dr. Beckham has been happily married for 21 years to his wife, Lisa, who holds a Doctor of Education degree from Samford University and is employed by the Mountain Brook Board of Education as Director of Instruction. They devote much of their time to their respective professions and are active members of Hunter Street Baptist Church.

Dr. Beckham enjoys his family, which includes his daughter, April Beckham of Homewood, and his son, Dr. Heath Beckham, daughter-in-law, Jamey, and two grandsons, John Henry and Luke. Both children have followed in the medical field. April has recently finished her third degree and is now a PA (Physician's Assistant) working in the ER at a local hospital. Heath has recently returned to Birmingham as a colorectal surgeon, practicing with Alabama Colon and Rectal Institute.

When Dr. Beckham is not seeing patients, he enjoys fishing, water sports, hunting, and photography. He has recently taken up bow hunting with a crossbow and is looking forward to this year’s deer season. His wife, Lisa, has also decided to try deer hunting this year and they are both looking forward to the Fall.

He also volunteers his services to underprivileged children by working at different dental clinics for children and at the University of Alabama School of Dentistry each year, working with the “Give Kids A Smile Program.”

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