In honor of celebrating Dads during the month of June as Father’s Day approaches, I am honored to feature some incredible dads in our local community – and first up is Dr. Trev Samp! Dr. Trev is a father of two and also the owner/sole practitioner of High Tide Orthodontics in Carolina Park. Dr. Trev and his wife, Ashley, moved to Charleston in May 2020. Desiring to own his own private practice while also living in Charleston, Dr. Trev decided to start his own from scratch! Opening the office doors in January 2023, Dr. Trev brings with him 10 years of board certified orthodontic experience to the Mount Pleasant community.
High Tide Orthodontics is a state-of-the-art orthodontics practice that treats young kids, teens and adults. Offering customized treatment plans with the help of 3D technology, everyone is treated with the highest care and attention from a single doctor/single location practice. High Tide Orthodontics has been awarded in the community as a Best of Mount Pleasant practice, and they are just getting started! Dr. Trev is very involved with the surrounding community, and sponsors local schools and sports teams! As a college football athlete at Brown University, coaching the youth in the community is a passion for Dr. Trev, as well. High Tide Orthodontics offers traditional metal braces, 3D custom ceramic braces, and clear aligner therapies for any age. Dr. Trev is specifically interested in Phase 1 treatment to help improve skeletal jaw imbalance and related sleep disordered breathing. As a father of a daughter that experienced sleep disordered breathing in relation to enlarged tonsils/adenoids, he could see firsthand the effects of sleep disordered breathing. Read more below about Dr. Trev, his family life in the lowcountry and his favorite part about running his own business.
Where are you originally from and how long have you been in Charleston, SC?
I was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin (Go Pack Go!). My wife, Ashley, and I moved to Charleston in May 2020.
Tell us about your family
Ashley and I have two children! My daughter, Bowie, is a 4 year old that is obsessed with princesses, cupcakes, and everything pink! My little dude, Webster, is a 20 month old adrenaline junkie (and has the chipped tooth to prove it!). Ashley is an incredibly talented artist and manages her own company, Ashley D. Studio. She used to be a print designer for Lilly Pulitzer and Chubbies, and has also helped the High Tide office look pretty with her palm trees and fern paintings!
One thing people would be surprised to know about you?
I played football all four years in college at Brown University (wide receiver), and we were Ivy League Champions in 2008! Football was very important for shaping who I am today and teaches such great values, so I am trying to get more involved in coaching within the community. During the first year of business at High Tide (I had some more free time) so I was an assistant football coach for the Wando C Team. This year, I hope to get involved with coaching the Warhawks!
What’s your favorite thing about raising a family in Charleston?
We love the friends that we have made in Charleston; it’s so much fun experiencing the early stages of parenthood alongside those friends who are in the same boat! Speaking of boats, my family loves to be at the beach or on the water, and the weather in Charleston allows us to do these activities year-round!
Tell us about your business, High Tide Orthodontics, and when & why you decided to start this business!
High Tide Orthodontics is a state-of-the-art orthodontic clinic that treats all ages and complexities. We are an “airway friendly” office, meaning that I understand the benefits of earlier orthodontic treatment in kids to help with their breathing, growth and development. I’ve been practicing orthodontics for 10 years, and I always knew that I wanted to own my own practice. I’ve had a few office purchase opportunities fall through or not work out (in Philly and Denver) but I’m glad they didn’t! Starting my own practice, while financially risky, seemed to be the only option if we were to stay in Charleston. I felt like I was ready to take the plunge and go for it! I opened doors in January 2023 and have since been trying to run the best office possible!
What is your favorite part about your business?
Vibes on vibes. I love how we are growing a family of awesome patients in such an inviting space. High Tide is lucky to be located in such a great, supportive community. I also love my staff and how much fun we can have working together. These girls are amazing and I tend to lean on them often! Finally, as my own boss, I am unencumbered by any treatment restrictions or compromised decision-making, so I believe this leads to better diagnoses, treatment experiences, and final treatment outcomes for my patients.
Tell us about the different treatments and technology High Tide Orthodontics offers.
At High Tide we will take a (free) CBCT 3D x-ray to best diagnose and treatment plan each patient’s custom treatment. We offer clear aligners (Invisalign) and can actually make our own in-house aligners with our 3D printer! Our braces systems are developed for efficiency and facial esthetics in mind. We also have custom 3D printed braces! I tend to nerd out on new technology in the ortho world, but I will still rely on the most up-to-date research to justify these newer methods and technology.
Your office is such a fun vibe for clients! What do you think sets you apart in your line of work?
I think the vibe is always going to feel elevated in a startup dental practice. These doctors put their heart and soul into their practice, and I think patients really feel that. I’ve always been a down-to-earth, high energy guy. And those vibes are real at High Tide. We LOVE hearing that the patients and their siblings are legitimately excited to come to our office for their appointments. (Although, that might be because of the cold brew on tap or the arcade)
Congrats on winning Best of Mount Pleasant 2025! What are your thoughts behind this great accomplishment?
We couldn’t be more proud and thankful for the recognition. Every nice review that we get holds so much weight, especially with the sweat (and tears) that goes into a start up dental practice. The patients that we have are incredibly supportive and are the main reason that we were recognized with this award. There are a lot of really good orthodontists in Mount Pleasant, so getting this honor meant so much to me as both a practitioner and a small business owner.
I know you are actively involved in our community as a sponsor for local events. Do you have any upcoming events you’d like to share that you are a part of?
We love sponsoring local school and sports teams (like the Carolina Park Kraken Swim Team, Oceanside/Wando sports teams, and Wando band and cheerleading). We recently had a Scavenger Hunt table at the Picnic for the Parks with the Charleston Parks Conservancy, which was really fun! I would definitely recommend checking out the Mount Pleasant Market North once that starts again after summer (usually the first Saturday of each month).
Tell us more about your work/life balance within fatherhood.
This one is tough. A start-up dental practice is not for the faint of heart. But, I am simply trying my best to never sacrifice fatherhood for my business. I choose to do my administration and management work during my kid’s sleep hours or during the weekend. I just try to be involved as much as I can, because I know these days will fly by! Also: when an orthodontist is starting a practice from scratch, usually they will need to keep a part-time job until the practice grows enough to sustain itself. My part-time job is located in Sumter, SC (a two hour commute) and I work there 2 days/week. That’s a LOT of gas miles and time on the road away from family. So you better bet that I cherish every single second with my kids, wife and close friends. The light at the end of the tunnel will be to soon get to the point where I won’t have to commute (and can free up more time for my family and opening more days at High Tide).
Who has most influenced you to be the dad that you are today?
I vividly remembering my dad coming home from work, parking the car, and then walking directly to the boat to take us tubing and wakeboarding. He always had time to throw football routes in the backyard and seemed to genuinely love being with his kids. I love watching him interact with my kids because it’s a reminder that he was a great father to me, as well.
What advice would you share with a new dad or other dads?
Ferris Bueller said it best: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”. I have used this mantra my entire life to try and remember to live in the moment. This couldn’t be more true with a newborn and/or young kids. It’s so easy to default to Gabby’s Dollhouse or Spidey and Friends on the living room TV… instead, try to make a treasure map scavenger hunt, plan a daddy-daughter date once a month, and get them outside. When you travel, here’s a crazy idea: bring them along! With my business, I tend to be available to my patients as much as possible; but that means I am on my phone quite often. I try to limit phone time in front of my kids because I think that they can feel that barrier and I don’t want them to feel like they aren’t my top priority.
We love supporting local businesses – favorite places in Charleston to…
Have Dinner with Family: Coastal Crust, Rancho Lewis
Grab a Drink with Friends: Blind Tiger, Salty Mikes
Have a Date Night: Verns, Chubbyfish, 167 Raw are favorites
Spend time together as a Family: On a boat, at the beach, or traveling together!
Outside Activities: Park Circle Playground, Family walks
Grab coffee: I feel like we keep our neighbor BKedSHop humming, but I love Second State for my Saturday admin catchup work 🙂
