Denturist Profile: KRISTINE BHANG

Celebrating the first anniversary of Farmington Denture Center, her Beaverton area clinic, is Kristine Bahng, one of Oregon’s most recent independently practicing denturists.

Licensed in 2005, Kristine is one of three in her family that work in the dental profession. Her older brother is a graduate of the Portland Community College Dental Laboratory Technology program and owns a dental laboratory in King City, and her younger sister has a dental practice in the area.

Born in Korea, Kristine came to the United states with her siblings 1983, and has lived in Oregon ever since.

It was her brother who inspired Kristine to enter the dental field. “I graduated from nursing school, but found that nursing wasn’t that interesting to me”, she confesses. “And as I was trying to decide what to do, I watched my older brother work in his dental lab and found it very interesting. That’s when I decided to do go through the PCC program too.” She graduated in 1995.

For the next eight years Kristine worked as a dental lab technician; for one year with an established Lake Oswego lab, and then as the sole proprietor of her own Beaverton lab. “I loved doing crown and bridge work”, she says, “but after about 7 years I found I was working too much, almost day and night, and I missed having patient contact like I did when I was a nurse.”

“Some dentists were wonderful”, she admitted. “If there was something wrong with the impression they were willing to do it over again. But others were not willing to do another impression, and you just had to work with what they gave you. And I felt that even if I did beautiful work the outcome was probably not going to be great. That was frustrating for me.

So I started thinking about what else I could do in the dental field. I met with some denturists I knew and asked what I had to do to become one. I contacted the Health Licensing Agency too, and that is how I found out about George Brown.”

So while maintaining her dental lab business, in 2000 Kristine enrolled in the George Brown distance learning program. “It was very good for me because I was running a dental lab and didn’t have a lot of time to go to school and sit in a class. George Brown was the best option
for me. But going there was not easy for me”, she continued. Every few months I had to fly there for a few days and then come back and catch up on my work.”

It took her nearly three years to complete the program, and soon thereafter she began a practical internship with Hillsboro denturist Bob Cain. She continued to work for Bob until opening her own office last year. “Bob is a very good denturist”, she believes, “he taught me a lot.” Bob’s professional opinion of Kristine reflects similar sentiments. “She was an excellent intern”, he says; a pleasure to work with. I wish she was still here with me.”

Although enjoying the independence of operating her own business once again, the beginning of Kristine’s first year was not easy. “When I first opened I didn’t do any advertising at all, just the yellow pages”, she says. And with her only exposure being the telephone directory, growth was slow. “But after I put up a sign”, she continued, “people found out about me and would stop by.”

In the end, patient referrals really made the year a successful one. “A husband would come in to get something done and then his wife would come in too; and then they would tell other people about me. Referrals kept me going over last year”, she believes, “and now because of the ad in the yellow pages I am beginning to get a lot of telephone calls.”

At the first anniversary milepost Kristine has 35 active patient files, not including repairs and relines. About 20% of her caseload is partial patients. Within the next three years she would like to be busier, but not super busy, because she wants to continue to do her own lab work. She also would like to hire a receptionist.

In addition to her in-clinic cases, Kristine also maintains a house call business, serving the residents of local nursing homes and assisted living communities. “I go with a tool box and do the same thing that I do in the office”, she says. “I will visit someone 5 or 6 times if they need a new denture or can do repairs right there. If I need to do extensive work I will bring it back to the office lab and do it.”

A member of the Oregon State Denturist Association since opening her own clinic, Kristine appreciates the value of a professional association. “I was looking at the dentist’s association”, she says, “and the number of dentists there are in Oregon. And then I learned that there are only about 100 denturists in Oregon. So (just by) looking at the numbers I can see that we can’t compare with dentists. We are a small group and need every single body to join (the association) for us to have power. And without unity we cannot go forward. I would also like to see more denturists join the OSDA so that we can gain more power as a profession.”

And what does moving forward mean to Kristine? “One thing I think about is education.
If I had had a school in Oregon it wouldn’t have been such a struggle for me to become a denturist. And I know a few people who are interested in becoming a denturist but are not willing to do the things I had to do to make that happen.”

Another aspect of moving forward for Kristine is professional awareness. “Not many people know about denturists. Maybe (the association) can do something to promote the profession.”

When not working, Kristine enjoys spending time with her husband, two children, and hobbies, which include vegetable gardening and reading.

Kristine has professionally reinvented herself a number of times, going from nurse, to lab technician, and ultimately, to denturist. Over that time she has blended being both a student and a businesswoman, while at the same time meeting the responsibilities of a wife and mother. Through focused determination she has reached a place of professional satisfaction and accomplishment. “I really love what I do”, she declares, “and would like to see more denturists out there.”