Dr. Hye-Rin Han, who has been at Minish Dental Hospital for eight years, started as an orthodontist and expanded her practice to include Minish.
“Orthodontics is about fixing the skeleton, and minish is about perfecting the skin. Just like you can have a beautiful skeleton after a diet, but if your skin isn’t right, you’re not happy, and if you still have surface issues after orthodontics, you’re lacking the finishing touch.”
His “hybrid practice,” which combines the precision of orthodontics to correct bites with the aesthetics of Minish to perfect tooth texture, has resulted in a 120% patient satisfaction rate, and he emphasizes preventive care that never misses a “golden opportunity. Here’s what he had to say.
Q. Was there a particular moment that inspired you to become a dentist?
My orthodontic treatment experience as a child, which lasted over three years, was crucial. My orthodontist was more like a “preventive doctor” to me than just a doctor, giving me detailed instructions on everything from how to brush my teeth to how to breathe to where to place my tongue when pronouncing words.
As a result, I have maintained a healthy mouth without a single cavity to date. I became a dentist because I wanted to give that lifelong asset to someone else.
Q. How did you get involved with Minish?
After about five years of experience at an orthodontic hospital, he joined Minish Dental Hospital as the director eight years ago. At that time, Minish was still developing as a “general dental hospital,” which is rare in Gangnam.
I was attracted to Minishman’s system and its potential for growth, as all of its practices – orthodontics, caries, aesthetics, and surgery – are organized organically.
Q. Why is the “Minish ecosystem” that you emphasize important?
I’ve always wanted to combine my orthodontic practice with my Minish practice and promote Minish’s lifelong dental program, or “Minish Ecosystem.
There are certain exams and treatments that everyone needs at important times in their lives. By coming to Minish Dental often from a young age, you can stay on top of your dental needs and avoid painful treatments to repair teeth that are already broken.
Instead, dentistry can be a pleasant place to visit to make sure your current good condition stays good for longer, and to become more beautiful and healthy.
Isali dentistry is growing because the Minish philosophy resonates with everyone, everywhere.
Q. Why do you emphasize the “golden years” of dental care in childhood?
Prevention-focused oral hygiene education and growth-specific orthodontic evaluation are especially important during childhood. If children learn to brush their teeth properly at a young age, they won’t need to visit the dentist as often as they would as adults to treat cavities.
The golden age of 12 to 16 years is a time when skeletal control is possible, so sideburns can be improved without surgery and healing is much faster.
In my seven years of orthodontic practice, the most frustrating part is seeing cases where an unnecessary extraction could have been avoided if I had seen them earlier in this golden time.
Q. What kind of dental care will I need as an adult?
In adulthood, we need to focus on protecting gums that weaken with age and teeth that shrink with wear and tear. The earlier you are introduced to the Minish ecosystem, the simpler your dental care will be.
“One correction as a child, one mini-me as an adult, and then you’re done with major treatments, and after that, you just need regular check-ups and spa treatments, like going to a dermatologist, to keep you healthy. That’s the message I really want to get across to my patients.
Q. What are your favorite Dr. Minish products and self-care habits?
My favorite combination is a double-headed toothbrush + high fluoride toothpaste + interdental brush. The double-headed toothbrush gets between the teeth and gums, which helps prevent periodontal disease.
Once you’re past the point of caries (cavities), it’s all about periodontal health – there is no cure for periodontal disease, only ‘prevention’.
Another product that I really like is the high-tech toothbrush and the interdental toothbrush, which is still in the pipeline, but I know that they’re working on it together with the director of prevention and conservation.
I use these two “cheat key” toothbrushes at the end of the day to give my mouth a thorough cleaning.
Brushing my teeth makes me feel good that I’ve taken care of myself, and as a dentist, I know it’s not just a nice feeling, it’s actually a very effective behavior for oral health, and I hope you’ll make it a part of your daily routine.
Q. As an orthodontist, why did you decide to expand your practice to include Minish?
Orthodontic treatment is essential for people with skeletal problems such as overbite or underbite, poor molar relationships that make eating uncomfortable, and those who need to improve their side profile.
Orthodontic treatment is designed to “straighten your bite and keep it from getting worse” and is based on the present and past. However, there are areas that orthodontic treatment alone cannot address: tooth shape, color, and texture.
Sometimes, even after braces improve alignment, black triangles (empty spaces between teeth) can develop, or uneven reflections can make teeth look washed out after braces are removed.
This is where a mini-shave can make the biggest difference to a patient’s smile. Just as a woman can lose weight and reveal a beautiful face and frame, but still have bad skin, so too, if you have surface issues with your teeth after orthodontic treatment, the finishing touches are lacking.
I’ve seen many patients who have seen a 120% increase in satisfaction from combining orthodontics and Minish, and I’ve seen the synergy between the two treatments every time.
Q. How do you want to be remembered as a physician in the future?
I believe that Minishna orthodontic treatment provides an important “turning point” in a patient’s oral health, but it is not an end in itself.
I believe that post-treatment maintenance and care is even more important, and that the whole process of working together to identify and fix the “tooth-destroying habits” that patients didn’t even realize they had is part of true treatment.
I will continue to practice a hybrid practice that combines the benefits of orthodontics (improved bite) with the benefits of Minish (beautiful transformation), and I will be a doctor who promotes the Minish ecosystem where patients learn to love themselves and become healthier.
