She spent her childhood years living in Portland and Seoul, splitting her time between the hustling city of Gangnam and the quaint charm of Beaverton and Tigard where she built her tree forts and learned to skateboard. Later during her college years, she even wandered off to live in Paris where she developed a growing appetite for French cuisine and desserts, while working as a student-chef at the Ritz Escoffier culinary school. After all the exciting adventures, Dr. Leemin knew that her ultimate passion rested in crafting beautiful smiles, and returned to the stateside to pursue her childhood dreams in orthodontics.
After graduating from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts with Honors, she embarked on her career in dentistry at University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated #1 in her class. Feeling just a little too ambitious, she then completed 2.5 years of additional training at OHSU to become an orthodontic specialist.
Since finishing her whopping 11 years of post secondary education (or 23 years in school!), she has not yet lost her appetite in learning, and continues to attend several Invisalign seminars and continuing education courses. She currently practices as a board certified orthodontist, an achievement shared only by one third of orthodontists nationwide. With broad experience in advanced orthodontic treatments, Dr. Leemin enjoys serving patients of all ages with a wide variety of bite problems!
Outside her professional demeanor during office hours, chances are, Dr. Leemin is stirring up trouble she loves cooking up delicious french meals that require the use of every utensil in her kitchen, and snowboarding at Mt. Hood in her Eeyore onesie. If you spot her tail, be sure to bring it to her!
Dr. Kimberly Handick began her orthodontic career in Hillsdale after graduating from Indiana University School of Dentistry with high honors and finishing her residency program in orthodontics with a masters degree. She came to the PNW with her husband and one baby, but two decades and a set of triplets later, she somehow finds herself to be a mom to four grown-up children and a golden doodle named Stella. One would never guess that she led daily circus shows at home from the way she has gracefully captained Hillsdale Orthodontics and treated thousands of smiles all these years. As a mom of oh-so-many children, she has an exceptional way of making everyone feel special and at ease. WithDr. Leemin, she is excited to stay connected to the latest technologies in orthodontics as ourPortland Orthodontistscontinue to provide excellent orthodontic services to the community.
Invisalign is the most popular brand of clear aligners used for orthodontic treatment. It utilizes a series of clear removable aligners, also called trays, made of smooth clear plastic that straighten your teeth over time, and offers adults and teenagers an alternative solution to traditional braces. Your treatment plan is completely customized and designed step-by-step by your Portland orthodontist, who will monitor your progress from A to Z until a beautiful smile and a healthy bite are achieved.
While the cosmetic benefits of Invisalign are often the most touted, the other benefits are hard to deny. Patients in traditional braces have to forgo many foods to avoid damaging the brackets and wires. But that isnt the case with Invisalign because the aligners are removed before eating and drinking. That also means brushing and flossing is easy because you dont have brackets and wires to try to work around. Of course, your ability to remove the aligners comes as a double-edge sword! They only work when they are worn, and therefore require a higher degree of patient compliance to ensure treatment stays on track.
Invisalign utilizes a series of clear removable aligners that look and feel like clear retainers, or rigid whitening trays. Each patients treatment usually consists of 10-30 aligners that each move the teeth in small increments by applying gentle pressure, and patients progress through the series until the teeth straighten completely. The aligners are made of smooth clear plastic, with no need for metal wires or brackets. Your orthodontist combines his or her expertise in orthodontics with powerful digital technology to prescribe your unique treatment plan.
Once the aligners are custom-ordered, the series of aligners will gradually guide the teeth to their proper alignment. The trays utilize gentle, consistent pressure to move teeth. Each set of aligners is worn for 22 hours a day for 7-14 days before moving to the next set. Each set of aligners is perfectly calibrated to achieve a certain tooth movement, with the end result being a straighter smile with a healthier bite. Treatment time usually varies from 6-24 months, depending on the complexity of your case.
With her years of experience as a certified Invisalign provider, Dr. Leemin is able to treat a wide spectrum of orthodontic cases spanning from simple crowding cases to complex surgical cases. Fortunately for all of us, Invisalign treatment is now no longer limited only to those with the most minor malocclusions.