Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Blodgett.
Hi Kelly, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a fourth generation Portlander. I grew up in SW Portland attending Capitol Hill Grade School (same school to which my father and paternal grandmother attended), Markham Middle School, and Wilson High School (now Wells H.S.). I love SW Portland and still live in the Wells H.S. district.
During high school, I gained an interest in psychology taking the different courses that were offered. This inspired me to pursue a psychology degree in college. I had a vision of becoming a Psychologist and helping people discover what drives them and steering them toward life optimization.
For college, I attended the University of Oregon. There, at the end of my sophomore year, I met the woman who later became my wife (Julie) – a beautiful and spirited woman from Central Oregon. We both got on the track of pursuing a Master’s Degree program in Psychology. Thankfully, we both were accepted to the same program just outside of San Francisco. We thought that we had it all figured out – we would get our Master’s Degrees and be on the road to our professional life. But life took a turn we were not expecting.
Approximately two months before graduating from U of O, I became a Christian. Julie had been in the Christian faith her whole life and had encouraged me to look into knowing Jesus myself. I was highly resistant. But a book (More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell) was recommended to me by another friend and I opted to read it. It changed my life. I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior and decided to as God for guidance in my life. That changed everything.
Two weeks later as I was developing my prayer life, I heard God tell me, “Become a dentist and reverse the negative stereotype of dentistry”. It was as clear a day. And I could not shake what I had heard. I told Julie what happened. We talked about it and prayed about it. Long story short, we both decided to forgo our Master’s program so that I could go back to college, get my prerequisite science courses completed, and apply for dental school. We moved to Portland where I attended Portland State University, completed all prerequisites in 12 months, applied, and was accepted to OHSU’s School of Dentistry.
I attended OHSU from 1995-1999. As a student I was highly involved in dental politics at the school. I got to know students, faculty and alumni from many years prior. I was constantly giving of my time to serve the dental community at large. Upon graduation, my dental school class honored me with the “Going the Extra Mile” award – an award chosen by my own classmates. I spent my first year out of dental school as a General Practice Resident at the Portland VA Hospital Dental Clinic. There I learned a great deal about the integrated nature of healthcare. Although a lot of healthcare is practice in “silos”, at the VA there was actually a lot of shared care for our patients across many medical disciplines. This appealed to me as I could see how the health systems of the human body work together and influence each other.
After completing my residency and spending a short stint as a dental associate in a practice in Sellwood, I bought the dental practice of Dr. Ken Berg in North Portland. It was a well established practice where Dr. Berg had served the community of North Portland for over 40 years. As I took over this practice, my calling of “reversing the negative stereotype of dentistry” was ever present in my mind. I felt that I had the skills to work with people given the experience I had gained as a psychology major and having worked on a crisis line while in college. I understood how people could feel in stressful situations where they felt out of control. My first attempt at creating more positive experiences in dentistry was to treat people from a humanistic perspective – considering their thoughts, feelings, emotions, and goals – rather than just treating them like a set of teeth to drill, fill, and bill. This approach was well received by the patients of the practice and endeared them to me quickly.
My second phase of improving dental experiences was to integrate technology into the practice. I started by investing in two dental lasers, then a “CAD/CAM” system that allowed me to make crowns and other ceramic restorations in a single visit, then more lasers, fully computerizing the practice, and digital X-ray systems. That all happened between 2002-2004. During that time, word was getting out about the amazing “outside the box” care I was providing in North Portland. Patients were traveling from across the state to see me. I was out-growing my space and started looking for a larger building that I could own and where we could grow. In July of 2005, I purchased the old “Morrison Bridge Music” building at the east foot of the Morrison bridge. 15 months later, after jumping through the hoops of a “zone change” and a massive building remodel, we moved in to 522 SE Belmont to start caring for patients on October 1st, 2006.
From 2006 through 2011, my practice grew both in size and in stature. I was featured in numerous regional and national dental magazines. My practice that was heavily focused on integrating psychology and technology was doing very well. But there was one more phase yet to be integrated. In 2012, I discovered the concepts of “Holistic Oral Health” and “Biological Dentistry” after reading the book, “Whole Body Dentistry” by Dr. Mark Breiner. His book explained to me so many of the mysterious patterns I had observed as a veteran dental practitioner where I had not yet put together the pieces of the puzzle. I learned about the health risks of mercury fillings, root canals, and mixed metals in the mouth. I started reading more books on these subjects and doing deep dives into PubMed for substantiating research. By 2015 I could tell that my career was set to embark on a new path.
In 2015, I dropped my membership to the ADA (American Dental Association), the ODA (Oregon Dental Association) and the local county affiliate. These organizations supported the use of mercury fillings (and still do), root canals, and mixed metals. I decided that I could not in good conscience support organizations that knowingly put the health of humans at risk. I joined, instead, three organizations of which I am still an active member: The IAOMT (International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology), the IABDM (International Academy of Biological Dentistry and Medicine), and the HDA (Holistic Dental Association). Then in June of 2018, I went back to school becoming a student at the ACIMD (American College of Integrative Medicine and Dentistry). Through that program I became Board Certified in Naturopathic Medical Dentistry and in Integrative Biological Dental Medicine. I was the first dentist in Oregon to complete that program finishing in January of 2020. I followed the completion of that program by gaining the distinguishing honor of becoming Oregon’s first dentist to become a “Certified Biological Dentist” through the IABDM.
During my time as a student at the ACIMD, I decided to start writing stories of patients I was treating and their health recovery through holistic oral health and biological dentistry. Many of the patients I was treating had been told that their chronic health conditions were untreatable and that they would need medication to manage their symptoms for life. Finding that this did not resonate with their own intuitive senses, they sought me out to have what I now call “BioDental Rejuvenation”. Any dental issues that presented risk (mercury fillings and other metals in the mouth, infected root canals, and jawbone cavitation lesions) were treated and brought back to health. As a result, many of the patients’ chronic health conditions “disappeared”. In fact, their bodies simply went back to the health state for which they were designed once these toxic dental issues were resolved. As I started sharing these stories on Instagram and Facebook, the stories resonated with tens of thousands of people! I was soon receiving invitations to speak on podcasts and give lectures throughout the world. Today I am regarded as one of the most influential “Biological Dentists” in the world. I am blessed to care for people who travel from near and far to experience all that Blodgett Dental Care has become – a bastion of hope for those who suffer with “mystery illness” and who want to regain their health and their agency over it.
In 2015 I was given another “download’ from God. I heard God call me to write a book sharing my unique “humanistic” approach to dentistry. The process of bringing that book to life took me over 10 years. But in late August, 2025, my first book – Feel Whole Again – Your Humanistic Guide to Healthcare – was published! I now also co-host a podcast (The Whole Health Podcast) with a fellow champion of whole health, Mrs. Megan Barnett, M.S. (a functional nutritionist and co-owner of BioLounge in NW Portland).
33 years after hearing God’s calling to “Reverse the Negative Stereotype of Dentistry”, I believe that I have (and continue t0) come close to accomplishing that mission. For the rest of my career I intend to not only continue developing the loving way that we care for human beings in a dental setting, but will also teach other dental practices across the world how to grow their businesses in a loving, humanistic way. To support this goal, in 2023 I started a company called “BEST Healthcare Coaching”. (BEST stands for Blodgett Education Systems and Training). I have trained dental practices across the United States and this year will work with our first practice outside of the U.S. All of the growth, influence, and exposure has been proof to me that by following God’s calling in my life, my energy has been used for the greater good of serving humankind.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been many “speed bumps” along the way. The first: debt. By the time graduated from dental school, I owed my lenders over $130,000 for both college and dental school. Add to that another $500,000 of debt to by my practice. By the time I was 5 years into business ownership, I owed more than $2,000,000 with the purchase of my building, new equipment, and creating a beautiful office space that looks more like a high-end hotel than a dental practice. But I would do it all again. It took over 21 years to pay off all of the debt and it was 100% worth it.
Second, choosing a path in dentistry that goes against the mainstream has not been an easy road. I have faced “arrows in the back” from many other dentists, some even filing “Dental Board Complaints” to try to slow my progress. Their attempts all failed. Everything I have done has been thoroughly researched and back by reputable published research as well as making good human health sense. The change within established dogmatic professions like dentistry is never easy. But the health that we (my team and I) are able help people experience is 100% worth the effort and the headaches from other practitioners. In time, they will all see that respecting human health is the right thing to do. They will then be asked me and my peers in the biological dental world to help them evolve.
One of the most significant struggles I faced was following the economic downturn in 2008-2010. Many people were choosing not to invest in their oral health at that time due to economic uncertainty. I had to shrink my team to the leanest size – only one front office person, one assistant, and one dental hygienist. Then the week before Christmas, 2011, the front office person and the hygienist quit! I was forced to reevaluate my goals, my mission, and my strategies. It was a VERY stressful part of my journey. However, within a year I had rebuilt my team with inspired team members and started the process of growing in the holistic and biological direction. I have never looked back.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
From a professional perspective, I am one of the most recognized biological dentists in the world. I think I shared a lot about that earlier. You can simply go to my Instagram page (@blodgettdentalcare) to see the kind of impact I have had through my story telling, and also read the reviews on my Google page. We at BDC are changing people’s lives for the better!
But the other aspect of my life that is super fun and different is that I play in a couple of bands. I have played with the same drummer for over 15 years. Although I play all musical instruments (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, saxophone, and sing), I primarily play 5-string bass with bands. I have played with The Jack Bush Band for almost 15 years and recently started in a new project called “Five by Five” (same drummer, but different singer, keyboardist, and guitarist). We play out in public on occasion practicing at the music room at my house. We always play the Saturday before Christmas at The Dublin Pub on SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway. It’s a super-fun way to connect with other adults who love playing music and helps keep my life balanced. Music has also helped me connect with other people as I have traveled the world for dental events. Playing music is by far my most “happy place”.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters the most to me is following God’s calling on my life and being true to what the bible teaches. Being present for my family is also another high priority in my life. As an internationally recognized dentist who has been on the “lecture circuit” throughout my whole career, I have had to pick and choose the events to which I agreed to speak. I will not sacrifice time with my family simply to gain more exposure or fame professionally. When my career fades, I know that it will be my wife and daughters who still mean the most in my life. That’s where I attempt to focus the majority of my energy.
Pricing:
- This is too specific per patient for me to generalize
Contact Info:
- Website: www.blodgettdentalcare.com and www.drkellyjblodgett.com
- Instagram: @blodgettdentalcare
- Facebook: Blodgett Dental Care
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-kelly-j-blodgett-dmd-nmd-a92ab85/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Blodgettdentalcare
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/@TheWholeHealthPod
