If you’ve had Dr. Kristen Kenner as a dentist, you know how vigorously she advocated for her patients to take care of their teeth. Whether it was toothbrush recommendations, using a water pick, or telling kids to stop having so much candy, she rigorously took care of every patient that came through her doors. Now her full-time dentistry doors are closing as she has announced her retirement full-time from her practice soon to be changed to Lakeland Smiles.
On Thursday, February 8, her office had an open house where family, friends, and patients got to say goodbye and wish her the best in retirement.
When she first started her private practice in 1985, North Dakota had 300 dentists. Only eight were women. Since then she has had patients who were children and then they grew up and brought their children to her. That was one of the highlights of her career. The other she said is “educating patients about teeth.”
She is electing to keep her license for two more years in case she needs to cover Dr. Sarah Cavanaugh, the new full-time dentist taking over for her. She is also planning to go to Dillingham, Alaska to work with Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation. The organization provides dentistry to the 21 Inuit villages in the area.“I always liked adventures,” Kenner said.
Kenner said she hopes she is remembered for being “honest” when it came to her patient’s dental care. “I loved educating them on how to have healthy teeth and mouth. I loved them as people that they were in my life.”
Of course, she still had dental advice to impart on everyone. “Brush your tongue, don’t be sucking on hard candy, use waterpiks, and look around in your mouth and see if you see anything.” She also learned at a seminar recently that you shouldn’t wash your mouth with water after brushing your teeth.
