“Family” is right up there in the name of Lisbon Family Dental Care, and when Dr. Jenna Pulkka’s brand-new building and dental practice opened on April 13, family was the focus from the start.
“It’s a dream that’s come to life,” she said as she recently walked the unfinished rooms of the new building at 568 Lisbon Road in Lisbon Falls. Dr. Jenna Pulkka and her husband, Kristian, will head the new practice. Kristian will be manager of the practice. He has a business background in software sales, and has been doing consulting work for the last few years.
Dr. Jenna (she prefers that informality for her name) said Lisbon Family Dental Care will provide general dentistry for all, including children, adults and elderly patients.
There’s another principal in the practice who is sure to be making frequent appearances at the Lisbon Family Dental Care facility. That is Kamden Pulkka, who was nine months old when work toward opening the new practice began in September of 2014. He is now 16 months old.
Kamden has been accorded the title of “Director of Being Adorable.” He’s already got a considerable number of followers, thanks to an adorable assortment of photos on the practice’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/lisbonfamilydentalcare.
Dr. Jenna attended Durham Elementary and moved on to Brunswick High School where she graduated with high honors in 1998. From there, she attended Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. where she majored in psychobiology. At Union she also minored in Spanish and did a semester abroad in Mexico, where in addition to falling in love with the local cuisine, she also became fluent in Spanish.
“I always knew I wanted to be in the medical field helping people,” Dr. Jenna recalled. “It ended up coming down to a choice between becoming a doctor or a dentist. Since dentistry runs in the family, I ultimately ended up choosing to go to UConn.” She attended the University of Connecticut School of Dentistry, where she excelled academically, yet still had time to do one of her passions — volunteer work.
In 2006, Dr. Jenna spearheaded a group of dental students who traveled to a remote area in the country of Belize on a humanitarian trip. While there, they performed dentistry on hundreds of local children, many of whom had never been to a dentist. “It was a truly humbling experience, and honestly one of the most rewarding things I have ever accomplished.”
After graduating from UCONN in 2007 with both the Samuel S. Feuer Prize, which is awarded to the senior with the highest scholastic four-year average, and the UCONN Faculty Award for Student Most Likely To Succeed, Dr. Jenna was one of 10 dental students selected from hundreds of qualified applicants for the University of Florida’s Advanced Education in General Dentistry program, which included a year-long intensive hands-on curriculum with a strong concentration in proper diagnosis and treatment planning.
Her decision to launch her own practice followed a period of partnership with her father that ended in August of 2014. “I really learned a lot from my father,” Dr. Jenna stated. “I am excited to combine that knowledge with my own ideas and help my vision for LFDC become a reality.”
Dr. Jenna and Kristian had some discussions on where they wanted to open their practice. Dr. Jenna confirmed Lisbon Falls has always been the target.
“It’s a community of really nice people. I am so excited that this long journey is almost over and I can begin practicing dentistry in my very own office,” she said, and Kristian agreed.
“This is definitely where we want to put our roots down,” he said.
Dr. Jenna said this town’s residents, and those in nearby towns, deserve quality dental care. She also looks forward to the kind of dental practice where friends and neighbors will be meeting each other in the waiting room.
“Lisbon Falls is where I really want to spend my career,” Dr. Jenna said. She has found that she has lots of community support for the new practice.
Dr. Jenna loves to spend time with her family, read and travel, and she has a passion for food. Since the addition of Kamden, the Pulkkas have kept their traveling to day trips, frequently taking road trips all over Maine.
“One of the main reasons I chose to become a dentist is that you can really have a family life in a dentistry career,” she said.
In addition to Dr. Jenna and Kristian, they will be starting with one hygienist, one assistant and a receptionist. Dr. Jenna and Kristian emphasized that patient education will be a priority for Lisbon Family Dental Care.
“We will be working hard to maintain good communication with patients,” Kristian said. “It’s important that we fully explain the recommended treatment plan, and then we can customize the plan after working closely with patients on their insurance and financing options.” He said the practice will accept CareCredit Financing and all dental insurances, including MaineCare.
“Building from the ground up lets you set things up just the way you want it,” Dr. Jenna said.
“When we realized we wanted to own a building instead of leasing, we started looking around the area,” she said, adding that they looked at a few other buildings in addition to the Subway Plaza.
“Ultimately we decided the location was perfect. I love that we are in a building that the town is already familiar with, across the street from the pharmacy and within easy walking distance to the high school,” Dr. Jenna said.
The new sign, with their new logo, appeared on the roadside Subway Plaza sign on March 5, officially identifying the structure that had been under construction at the site in the preceding weeks. Lisbon Hair Salon is also located in space at Subway Plaza.
Dr. Jenna likes the variety of the businesses that share a building with Lisbon Family Dental Care. “I like the fact that people can come get their teeth cleaned, get a haircut and then grab a sub for the road!” she said with a smile.
Purchase of the property was finalized in December, and construction began on the day after the closing. Contractor for the new building is RDB Construction of Auburn. The building configuration is an L-addition to the small strip mall’s Subway sandwich shop. Dimensions are about 100 feet long by 30 feet wide, for a total of approximately 2,875-square feet. It’s on the north side of the commercial area and there is ample parking space.
The entrance to the practice opens onto the spacious waiting room and reception desk. At the entrance is a consultation room and, on each side of the corridor is space for fully-equipped operatories for patient examination and treatment. The new building also has a laboratory, sterilization room, patient restrooms, as well as staff restrooms, and there is a business office at the end of the corridor.
“This will be a digital practice,” Dr. Jenna said. “We will have all the latest technology. It’s really exciting.”
Henry Shein Dental, based in Melville, New York, a major dental supply company, provided input on functional design of the several rooms, as well as guidance on choice and installation of the facility’s state-of-the-art dental equipment.
Patient rooms will feature the latest amenities in diagnostic equipment, and more importantly, patient comfort. Each room will have heated and massaging dental chairs waiting for every patient. There will be flat-screen televisions in every patient operatory that will be tuned to your favorite channel every time you come in.
Noise-cancelling headphones will add to the comfort and relaxation of patients.
High-tech digital cameras will be able to show patients exactly what the dentist sees. That makes it much more convenient and effective to understand how and why each treatment plan is recommended.
“It’s all aimed at making the experience as comfortable, quick and painless as possible,” Dr. Jenna said.
Kristian said the practice will open with four examination and treatment rooms, and that can be increased to six or seven in the near future. Construction has been planned to accommodate quick expansion of the practice, he said.
They are planning on doing an open house once the weather warms up. “We are going to be redoing the parking lot and adding some landscaping, but unfortunately we have to wait for the snow to melt first,” Kristian stated, adding, “We will make sure to advertise our open house well ahead of time, and hope to see everyone there.”
The hours for Lisbon Family Dental Care will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays; and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Lisbon Family Dental Health is accepting new patients. For information or an appointment, call 207-407-4301.