Our Team & Story

Dr. Jiwon received his education from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, the #1 dental school in the United States and #2 in the world (QS  ranking 2024). 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 is now the owning dentist of Snohomish Family Dentistry.  

He was raised in Brussels, Belgium, and Cape Town, South Africa from the 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 in a tangible manner.  Dr. Jiwon lives in Snohomish County with his wonderful wife, an energetic 9 year old son, a brand new baby girl, and a very needy and rather lazy Maltese. He loves to spend most of his spare time spending time with his family outdoors and serving his local community. He also enjoys fly fishing. He secretly hopes his son will be a world soccer superstar, hence why he named him after the greatest soccer player alive, Lionel Messi.. (Shhhh... don’t tell his wife).  

With Dr. Jiwon, you can be rest assured that your dental care is in skilled and honest hands. He vows and guarantees highest craftsmanship, honesty, and genuine care. You will be informed without reservation of all the current treatment options with transparency. 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.

Dr. Kela Ness is a life-long resident of Washington. From a young age, she has enjoyed helping people. After a difficult childhood tooth extraction, her parents found a kind pediatric dentist who inspired her to become a dentist. Very interested in the medical & dental field, she volunteered and later worked at St. Peter’s hospital during her high school years. She graduated from Timberline High School in Lacey and earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho. She completed her dental education at University of Washington School of Dentistry. After graduation, she was accepted for a hospital-based residency program before connecting with a retiring dentist in Snohomish, moving north to join the Snohomish community.  

She and her husband Joe have four grown children. They have now officially joined the rank of grandparents and absolutely love their new role! She can often be found playing Hot Wheels or hide & seek, doing a floor puzzle or being the “squatter”, this is 4-year-old baseball slang for the catcher, i.e. “Grandma, you be the squatter!”  

Dr. Ness enjoys all aspects of dentistry. She is gentle, a good communicator and takes great care to help her patients feel comfortable during their dental appointment. She is now semi-retired working part-time with Dr. Jiwon and having more time with family. She does locum tenens work for dentists in the area on medical leave as well as doing some volunteer dentistry at the Union Gospel Mission Dental Clinic in Seattle.   

She has been fortunate to combine her love of travel with her love of dentistry. Dr. Ness has worked with Medical Relief International, Great Shape! Inc. (1000 Smiles) and Christian Medical Dental Association; providing dental care in Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Grenada and the Philippines. In addition to dentistry and travel, she loves beach days, time with friends, church activities, gardening, music and reading.