Building a Career One Smile at a Time: The Henry Kim Story

Dentistry may have been Dr. Henry Kim's profession, but serving others became his life's calling. In this inspiring episode of Insights with Entrepreneurs, host Janice Wood sits down with renowned prosthodontist Dr. Henry Kim to explore the experiences that shaped both his career and his character.

From his journey across the United States and his decision to specialize in advanced restorative dentistry to teaching dentists around the world, volunteering on international dental missions, and becoming a hospital chaplain, Dr. Kim shares how every chapter of his life has been driven by one simple mission—helping people.
Discover how compassion, education, and listening have become just as important as clinical skill, and why true success is measured not only by what you accomplish, but by the lives you impact along the way.

Janice Wood
Host and Producer of A Senior Citizens Forum
Owner of Benefits4U2 Insurance Services
Aseniorcitizensforum@360tvlive.com
(310) 245-0332
License #0F35236 

Dr. Henry Kim, DMD, MMSc
General, Cosmetic and Implant Dentistry 
Prosthodontics, Periodontics, Endodontics and Orthodontics
(949) 472-5499

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Every day, millions of people passed one another without even knowing the stories behind the smiles. The struggles they faced, the moments that shaped them, the one decision that changed everything. For Dr. Henry Kim, that decision wasn't just about choosing a career. It was about choosing a life of purpose. Dentistry gave him the skills, but service gave him the mission. What began as a profession became a platform to teach, to mentor, to give back to communities that needed it the most. Dr. Kim, thank you for joining us on Insights with Entrepreneurs. Welcome to Insights with Entrepreneurs. And as I said earlier, we're going to be talking about myths and misconceptions of dental hygiene and why it's so important. Dr. Kim has been on my other show with Senior Citizens Forum, and I'm bringing this up because he has provided so many great information on our other shows. But on this particular show, Dr. Kim, I want to talk about you. Oh. Okay. Why did you become a dentist? How did you get to where you're at today with your dentistry? And let's talk to where it's led you to. As I said in my opening, you know, you're a teacher, you're a mentor, and you go to communities that need help in the dentistry. Right. And not only that, you're a chaplain.

SPEAKER_03 2:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 2:15

And I remember when you were going through the training to become a chaplain.

SPEAKER_03 2:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

So let's start with the dentistry and let's see how it's led you to your different path that you've been doing.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

Sure. I think I was asked that question many times before, and I had to think back to the point where I had to make a decision as to what I was going to do after graduating from college. And um, well, to make the long story short, I was simply asked to study with a friend to apply for dental school. And um, one thing led to another, uh here I am.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

So I know I don't want to mispronounce it because everybody's seen the other shows, they know I mispronounced it. So you became a proseodontist.

SPEAKER_02 3:01

Yeah, prostodontist.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Prostodontist. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

And how did you get to that? How did you select that form of dentistry?

SPEAKER_02 3:09

To continue how I became a dentist and become a prostodontist. I remember um during the first uh dental interview or the interview to uh at a at a dental school, um, one of the dean asked me, just like what you're asking me, how or why would you want to be a dentist? Um and and to that I answered, I I I think I gave a very genetic answer. I said, Well, I want to serve people, I want to help people. I truly wanted to become somebody who can provide service to others. And I think, you know, being a dentist, it certainly can do that in that particular field. So after entering a dental school with that uh mind, uh set of mind, and I uh I was told that I had a pretty decent set of hands. So that means I was able to make, you know, a lot of these uh small things that we had to make out of wax, out of uh porsen, out of acrylic. Um and and those are the kind of things uh that that would be needed for a prostodonist. Prostodonis is a dental specialist who would do a lot of the dental restorations, but in much more extensive way. So after graduating from dental school, uh a lot of people would recommend that that I would become a prostodontist. So certainly um I liked what I was doing with my hands making uh dental restorations, and uh I wanted to uh provide patients uh with more elaborated treatment uh than just providing a single filling or single crown here and there. I wanted to provide a comprehensive treatment for the whole mouth, not just uh uh one tooth. That that's how I became a prostheticist.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Almost like being a sculpture.

SPEAKER_02 4:59

That's part of it, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:00

Because you're sculpting a tooth.

SPEAKER_02 5:04

That was part of the training, but I don't do that personally anymore, you know, as a dentist. Uh I work closely with a great uh dental technicians who would sculpt the tooth, sculpt the crown.

SPEAKER_03 5:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

But um I provide uh more of a basis for something uh like that to be created by the dental uh technicians. So I prepare teeth prior to getting the dental restorations made, such as a crown or dentures, or or nowadays we're working closely with the dental implants. So um as a prosthetist, um not only do I just work on a a single tooth, but I can work with the multiple teeth or multiple implants, or even those patients who are identified with no teeth, right? I can provide them with dentures and such. As a prostheticist, we make sure that we try to create a good bite for the patient. That's what I do.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Well, you do the preparation and then you also you once it's prepared and it goes to the technician, yeah, then you're actually putting it in the person's mouth.

SPEAKER_02 6:12

I would prepare a tooth for a crown, and then I'll uh make a mold of that, and then the technician will make a model of the cream. Um and then with the model nowadays, a lot of that is computerized. So now the dental technicians are not just uh uh working with the you know uh uh what we'll call the gypsum model or the uh stone models to make a crown, but they actually use the computer to generate um uh a dental restoration. It's called the computer assisted manufacturing. So computer assisted uh design. Cat cam system is more prevalent than using a stone model.

SPEAKER_00 6:54

So AI is showing up everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

I don't know about AI, but certainly the computer uh age is here, and and that is not an well, dental technician is not an exception to that.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

So how did you get to teaching?

SPEAKER_02 7:09

So after so many years of practicing dentistry, I was introduced to different systems of of uh dental implants. And um, one of the dental implant systems that I was introduced was very intriguing, and then it was something different from the conventional uh system. So I was very inquisitive about about that particular system, and I ended up learning much about that myself, and and and and because I liked it so much uh that that I wanted to tell other dentists about it. And um the uh the company was, I guess, gracious enough to allow me to do that. Um so I went around a little bit uh to to teach others, um other dentists about this particular implant system. And in doing so, I learned something that I can do it. I can talk and I can teach, I can uh uh talk on and on for about about something that I really uh enjoy providing to our to my patients.

SPEAKER_00 8:15

Well, I've seen you grow over the years. Yes. Especially when you get up and you do presentations. Yes. Okay. Because you and I are a member of a business networking group for we've been together for over ten years. Yes, it's I've seen when you started and where you're at now.

SPEAKER_02 8:32

Over the years with the uh networking group and uh teaching and and getting involved with the different uh groups where I had to uh get up and and and talk. Certainly taught me a lot of things and gave me a lot of confidence in terms of teaching. So um talking to people is is is something I do all the time, right, with my patients, with my staff, with my uh office, uh and with the business group, uh networking group like you know like yourself. Um so yeah, now uh I think I see the importance of uh not just the public speaking, but uh having a good conversation with other people in order to uh share ideas and and in order to um learn uh and teach uh new ideas.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

I I think from for me when I when I teach, I learn something at the same time.

SPEAKER_03 9:27

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

So even putting together these shows, uh huh, I'm learning something each time.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Right. Yeah, that's exactly right. Um so you know when you teach or when you when you are trying to uh convey a message or an idea to someone else, not only do you have to know it well, um, but you have to have a faith in it, so to speak, right? Uh you can just simply just tell somebody about something that you do not like or you do not enjoy. Tells you how much you uh uh enjoy the uh the the the material that you are teaching and and how much faith you have in that material or or in the system, uh, implant system that I was particularly um teaching. So it gave me a lot of confidence about uh about using the system itself because uh as I was teaching others, I was learning more about it myself. And and and that was a that was a big positive uh that I got from uh from teaching now.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

But I know you've gone back to Korea. Yeah and you've taught dentistry in Korea, haven't you?

SPEAKER_02 10:34

Yes. Um there's there's um we actually uh I I won't give you the location exactly. Uh but yes, I had an opportunity to uh be part of uh dental school. I I enjoyed, you know, uh working with the dental students. And um they're great because they're they're eager to learn. Uh maybe uh that's how I was also. I forgot how how I was as a dental student, but these dental students that we got involved with, they were very much eager to uh learn new stuff and and they put you know their whole entire well, they put a lot of effort into um getting new information. And and that was very enjoyable because you know we were I was able to not only um provide them with the new information, but um we were able to work with the new st uh with these students in developing them as a as a dentist. And I think uh seeing, like you said, you you enjoy m very much of of how I grew up, uh how I uh developed myself as a professional. I I enjoyed very much uh working with these dental students who were becoming a dentist, or becoming dentists themselves. So that was a big uh very rewarding, and and that was very um uh very satisfying sort of now.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

I also know when you go to other countries, countries that do not have a lot of dental in their communities, yes, and you take dentistry there and and you give your time to these different communities.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Yeah, um I I I tried to get involved with a lot of the um the mission trips that that we have uh to other countries, but um it's not easy uh providing dental services to uh to people abroad because we may not have all the right equipment and and setup that uh that we need in order to provide proper services. Um so you know we do have portable units that we can take. Um and if they have already a dental office at at different places where I can go and and be a dentist, um, and then provide dental services to the patients there who would normally not receive dental services, uh then it's it works out much better. But um we tr at least try to um educate them uh in oral hygiene, um and we provide them with uh at least some uh toothbrushes and toothpaste um so that we can um at least give them some tools to to take care of their teeth. Um and that's what we know uh that's what we normally do. When when I say we, I mean you know, the the teams that that I go with. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:30

Similar to s doctors with out borders, sometimes.

SPEAKER_02 13:34

Yeah, I'm not yeah, i we we our group is not maybe we don't have actual uh yeah uh uh group name like that. But um yeah, some of the dentists that uh that I met over the years, we have done something uh for people who are not able to receive uh proper dental treatment because of the uh the situation they're in or the location they're in. So yeah, like I said before, it's very rewarding to s you know see, you know, uh some of those patients who finally get their achy tooth out. You know, even a a a small service like you know, tooth extraction um with anesthetic studies. Yeah. Yes, they're so much more grateful um that they were able to get their tooth out without too much pain or fear than it is worthwhile doing something like that.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Well, especially if they were in pain.

SPEAKER_02 14:32

Yes, especially if they were in in severe pain. Uh I know there are a lot of the doctors, uh dentists, uh and or surgeons who are out there trying to do a lot more than that. Um but uh even without that kind of setup and even with that, you know, having so many tools and materials to carry, because we're more of a smaller group, we were able to make some people smile again.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

Well, that's what dentists do. Yes, make people smile again. I think that's great.

SPEAKER_03 15:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:03

One of the other things that I know since I've met you, you became a chaplain.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

Uh so instead of just providing dental treatments or or education, I think uh uh what those people lacked was uh spiritual care as well. You know, um there's uh somebody um coined the term total pain. We we have pain, physical pain. We have pain from broken relationships, we have pain from our inner selves. And there's also we'll call the spiritual pain. Um when you have a uh when your spirit is broken or when you lose a relationship with um with the the ultimate being. Um you know, sometimes that type of pain is hard to um resolve. Um being a chaplain actually can provide uh a time and and place for people to talk about those things, not just the physical pains, but spiritual pains and interrelational uh pains. And and we're trained to listen to those uh uh pains from people. And that allows them to to recover uh not from just talking, but recover because they start to understand where that pain is coming from and and how to maybe deal with you know, they learn how to deal with it or b yeah, they at least having some understanding of where the pain is coming from, but they have much easier time dealing with that pain and maybe to a point where they can come to resolution. Um right it starts with uh a conversation with the chaplain possibly uh listening to their pain. And as being a dentist, I can always provide service, but um that's just to resolve a physical issue. Uh but being a chaplain, I can at least try now to resolve overall pain, not just the physical pain from a toothache. But also I can listen to their uh I think we talked about dental phobia before, right? Right. Yeah, listening to their childhood experiences that that made them fearful of dental, you know, offices or dental treatment. Now I can um become more uh acute to to listening to their uh patient's you know story and patients' uh uh perspective as to uh receiving dental treatment, how that affects their overall mood and and and how they uh uh how how fearful they can become in in receiving dental treatments.

SPEAKER_00 17:56

I think your uh training as a chaplain has helped you with your patience. Yes, that's exactly because put it in this perspective that you see somebody come in who's in pain, maybe physical pain, it may be mental pain. Yeah. Emotion, because you don't know what people go through in their lives.

SPEAKER_02 18:18

Yes. Like you said, there's an emotional aspect, there's a you know, relational aspect, there's a spiritual aspect. Obviously, we try to deal mostly with the physical pain, but uh sometimes just dealing with the physical pain is not enough. That's what I've learned being a chaplain or becoming a chaplain. So I know I talk uh quite a bit now, but you know, I I try to listen to uh my patients more and listen to others more so that we have a fuller understanding of where the patient's coming from.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

So your dentistry has taken you on many journeys.

SPEAKER_03 18:55

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

Okay, and one of the the journeys is becoming a chaplain, which you've taken back those skills that help your patients today.

SPEAKER_02 19:04

Yeah. You know, surprisingly, even uh dental patients will ask for a prayer even just because uh they know that I'm a chaplain. And yeah, and and you know, I uh I got trained as a chaplain at a hospital, and uh oftentimes when these patients come in uh with a major uh injury, um, you know, they're devastated. They they they their spirit is broken, um, their their you know the mentality is is not as strong. And and and just having a simple conversation with a chaplain and getting a little prayer from a chaplain to see that in my dental office as well, with our uh with my uh patients, uh that's even better.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

But I think you're able to to identify somebody who may be in pain without them even knowing that you're doing that.

SPEAKER_02 20:02

Right. So, yeah, so that's why listening is very important. Right. Yeah, because you want to listen to them talking. It's yeah, sometimes when I get busy, you know, I want to get through the day. But um uh whenever I have a moment, whenever I can uh do something like that, I I try to stay with the patient and listen to them and then spend as much time as I can so that we have a better understanding as to uh where the patient is coming from and what the patient may be in need of.

SPEAKER_00 20:31

I'm gonna go back to the beginning of our conversation right now. Sure. Okay. You did some moving around.

SPEAKER_02 20:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:39

Okay. Uh-huh. And I know you were in Florida. Where else were you at?

SPEAKER_02 20:44

So uh I was born in South Korea. Um, and then my parents moved to Northern California near San Francisco or San Jose. And then we spent uh time there throughout my high school, college, and then I was uh I moved to Boston where I did my dental uh education. So in Boston I spent another seven years. Um and then I moved to New York for another nine. That's where I met my wife and and started the family. And then I moved down to Florida for uh another seven years. So I spent about 22 years on the uh the eastern seaboard.

SPEAKER_00 21:29

Really? I didn't realize it was for that long. Yeah. So when I met you 10 years ago, you just had moved to Mission Viejo, where you put your practice. Right. That's Mission Viejo, California. Right.

SPEAKER_02 21:42

Yeah. So from Florida, we um well, one thing led to another, we wanted to move to maybe move back to New York, but um we found our way out to California instead of Northern Cal where I grew up. Uh I moved down to Southern Cal.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

I here was a Milo Angelo. She always says something about, you know, she traveled the four corners of the world and found that people were different, but yet we were the same.

SPEAKER_01 22:07

Yes. Yeah, we're all the same.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

We're all the same. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:11

We're seeking, I think we're all seeking happiness um uh and peace. And uh, you know, however you can find it. Uh, but I think we find it through or from each other. You know, yeah, just knowing that uh we're all the same, knowing that that we're all seeking the same idea. But I think it's that's a very comforting thought.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

I think it's really good when we all learn from each other.

SPEAKER_02 22:35

Yes. That's another thing, yeah. We try to teach each other and learn from each other, like just like we're doing now.

SPEAKER_00 22:41

Well, we're I'm learning more about you.

SPEAKER_02 22:44

Well, I've I I've certainly learned a lot about you um for the last ten years through through our meetings, and um, and I think that's great. And and we certainly learned that the uh we're we're all uh people, human.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

Yeah. Human But one of the things I know you have two sons. Yes. And you and I know you were excited when your youngest one started college.

SPEAKER_01 23:11

Yeah, it's it's it was a year ago.

SPEAKER_02 23:14

Well, he's just finishing up his first year of college. So that's very exciting. My uh older one is is finishing up his third year in college. And so just um knowing that that they um they're on their way to um life. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:34

I always call it I created functioning adults.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

Well, I don't know about functioning now, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:41

Uh the older one just turned 21 this year, so he is legally uh certainly adult.

SPEAKER_00 23:47

I know. I said I've known you for 10 years, I've seen you grow. Uh I have referred many of my clients to you. Your growth has been amazing. Okay. Thank you. You've done so much, you've mentored people, you teach people, you provide a valuable service, which is really great. Thank you for being on Insights with Entrepreneurs.

SPEAKER_01 24:10

Well, thank you for um allowing me to come onto your show and uh thank you for letting me uh introduce myself.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

If anybody wants to see any of the shows that we've done on uh Senior Citizens Forum, Dr. Kim has given us so much valuable information. Please find us on E360 TV, even YouTube, but I prefer the E360 TV. Thank you again for sharing something about you, Dr. Kim.

SPEAKER_02 24:38

Well, thank you for asking, and it's been wonderful.