Dr. Jiwon Gwak

Dr. Jiwon received his education from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, the #1 dental school in the United States (QS ranking 2023). He was also elected as his clinic president due to his strong clinical and interpersonal skills. With a concrete foundation from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), he arrives at Snohomish Family Dentistry with impeccable credentials. He was raised in Brussels, Belgium, and Cape Town, South Africa from the young age of 4. He returned to Korea to attend the Korea University School of Law. After much soul searching, Dr. Jiwon found his calling in the field of dentistry where he could impact people’s lives with his skillful hands. He always excelled in projects that required fine motor skills and manual dexterity since his youth and he feels the greatest joy when helping others tangibly. Dr. Jiwon lives in Snohomish County with his wonderful wife, an energetic 7 year old son, and a very needy and rather lazy Maltese. He loves to spend most of his spare time taking his son outdoors and playing soccer with him. He also enjoys fly fishing with his wife and dabbling in photography and playing guitar.

With Dr. Jiwon, you can be rest assured that your dental care is in skilled hands. He vows the highest craftsmanship and genuine care. You will be informed without reservation of all the current treatment options. He will make every effort to cater to your needs and to exceed your expectations.

Painless, safe, and beautiful dentistry are his goals and he is confident that you, as his patient, will attest to this.

Kela Haller Ness

Dr. Kela has been at Snohomish Family Dentistry for over 33 years and genuinely loves working with her staff and our great patients. Her passion for dentistry began at an early age when she received dental care from a pediatric dentist after an accident. Since then, her commitment has been to make the dental experience as comfortable and gentle as possible. She did her undergraduate studies in Chemistry at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, ID then entered the University of Washington School of Dentistry, where she received her DDS degree in 1988. Dr. Ness went on to do a General Practice Residency at the University of Washington.

She and Joe have been married for 38 years, have four children & two grandsons. She got a second daughter when her oldest son, Kevyn was married in June of 2017. She is very involved with her family, professional groups and her church. She has volunteered with the MTI dental van providing free dental care locally and has volunteered with Medical Relief International and Christian Medical Dental Association providing dental care in Guatemala, Honduras and the Philippines for children and adults.

In her free time, she loves to bicycle, ski, travel and try out new restaurants and jazz music venues. She is a member of the American Dental Association, the Washington State Dental Association and the Snohomish County Dental Association.

Her practice philosophy is to provide personalized, quality dentistry and to treat each of her patients with the gentleness, kindness and respect they deserve.