Dr. Kristin Kalwara

General Dentist, Licensed in Florida

Meet the lady behind the scenes at Healthy Smiles by Dr. B: Dr. Kristin Kalwara, a general dentist licensed in Florida, functions as a “Jackie of all trades” — serving as a dental business assistant for the front desk, business manager, dental assistant, and consultant for Dr. Denis Bourguignon.

Born in New York State, Dr. K grew up petite in stature but strong in spirit, fueled by her after-school niche in ballet, tap, cheerleading, and gymnastics in junior and high schools, and college. Her majoring in STEM courses led her to dental school, where she graduated from Columbia University. She started at Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach, where she attended a general practice residency emphasizing oral surgery, anesthesiology, and trauma.

She then practiced in Florida for 36 years, during which she owned two dental businesses, taught dental assisting, and worked with mobile dental services to serve nursing homes, assisted living facilities, memory care facilities, and the homebound — bringing dental services to those who could not travel.

While in practice, Dr. K emphasized laser application in dentistry, other high-tech dental tools, and Equipoise removable partial dentures. She treated all age groups and predominantly seniors from the World War I generation and beyond.

After vacationing in North Georgia and Western North Carolina, Dr. K decided that she would eventually retire here to the “sound of music” of the mountains. Then Dr. B came along, and plans changed a bit. After vacationing in NGA in 2010, the goal became to move permanently to this area to experience the beauty of the environment and the people.

After a number of obstacles that seemed insurmountable, Dr. K and Dr. B persevered and made the move here in 2016, officially setting up the dental office in beautiful Hayesville, NC in 2017.