Dr. Downing grew up in Fort Mill, SC, graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1982, earned his Doctorate of Dental Medicine at MUSC in Charleston, SC. After a one year General Practice Residency at the VA Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., he returned to South Carolina in 1988 to establish his practice.
Dr. Downing has the prestigious honor of being a member of the Greater Columbia Dental Association, the South Carolina Dental Association and the Palmetto Study Club as well as a volunteer dentist for the Richland County Children's Dental Clinic.

