Meet Dr. Kenia Alvarez
As a board-certified periodontist, Dr. Kenia Alvarez, DMD, spends most of her week in surgery crafting patients’ smiles. She skillfully places dental implants, rebuilds lost bone, and treats any gum disease or infections that put their teeth at risk.
Her state-of-the-art practice, Hamlin Periodontics + Implant Dentistry in Winter Garden, runs on some of the most advanced tools in all of dentistry. Yet, when she is asked whether technology should help patients decide which dentist they should choose, she doesn’t hesitate to move the tech off to the side.
“The technology is just a tool,” Dr. Alvarez says. “If you don’t know your basics and you don’t respect the biology, you can have the best technology in the world, and things won’t go well. The biology is always going to win at the end of the day, no matter what!”
Seeing What Traditional X-Rays Miss
Of all the tech she has brought into her practice, Dr. Alvarez is quick to put one tool at the top of the list. It’s the cone beam CT, or CBCT, a 3D imaging system she uses “for almost everything we do in our office.”
A standard X-ray provides just a flat view. However, the CBCT shows the full anatomy, and that changes what she can both see and catch. She uses it to find infections that don’t show up on traditional X-rays, including cysts and even cancerous lesions. It also reveals fractured teeth, bone defects caused by gum disease, and jawbone that has thinned too much to hold an implant.
“There are things you can’t capture on just traditional X-rays,” she says. Earlier in her career, she worked in settings where 3D imaging wasn’t even available at all or was saved for only certain cases. Today she believes it “needs to become more of the gold standard all around.”
Rebuilding Bone Without the Guesswork
The 3D scan has also impacted how she works with patients who don’t have enough bone for dental implants.
“Back in the day, we used to do these augmentations kind of by eyeballing it in order to see how much we needed to augment,” Dr. Alvarez explains. “Now we’re actually printing titanium meshes, which are kind of the same materials that we use for dental implants, to build the anatomy of a deficient jaw.”
The scan also allows her to check the sinuses for infection or polyps before any procedures take place in the area to be treated.
Walking Out With Teeth the Same Day
Another big shift she has seen is today’s 3D printing capabilities. For patients who need a full arch of teeth replaced, her team can design the new teeth digitally while the patient is in the chair, print them and place them that very same day.
That used to be impossible. Impressions were taken with the all-too-familiar goop, which was sent out to a third-party lab, and then the patient came back later for fitting. Now, if a patient says the teeth look a little too big or the bite feels off, the fix is a digital redesign and a new print that only takes about 30 minutes. Times have certainly changed.
Dr. Alvarez saw the impact firsthand with a recent patient who had severe infections and decay throughout her upper teeth. Using the CT scan, an intraoral scanner and 3D printing, her team extracted the failing teeth, cleared the infections, placed the implants, and delivered a full arch of new teeth in just a single appointment.
“We cleared the infections, we placed the implants, and she left with beautiful new teeth,” Dr. Alvarez says. “It’s a good thing because I think the patient had a wedding in New York to get to.”
It’s worth noting that same-day teeth aren’t possible for everyone, though, and she is quick to say so. Bite problems, anatomy, or areas that need major reconstruction can rule a patient out for teeth in a day. Some need bone grafting or sinus work first, and then some time to heal before getting their new teeth.
“But if the patient has the anatomy,” she says, “I think having these services in office is the best service we can provide for patients.”
Why Training Still Comes First
Asked whether technology should guide a patient’s choice of dentist, Dr. Alvarez calls it a tricky question. Her answer starts somewhere else entirely.
“I think credentials should always come first,” she says. “You can’t buy your experience. You can’t buy the cases you have under your belt, the complications you’ve seen, and the experience you’ve gained through difficult cases.”
She worries that marketing blurs an important line. “Sometimes patients don’t really understand that there is a difference between, let’s say, a specialist with proper training and a general dentist who takes a weekend course and just buys the technology,” she says.
A beautiful restoration still fails, in her view, if the dentist doesn’t understand how tissue heals or how the materials behave. Technology does matter, and she calls it “really, really important.” But it has to be matched with the judgment to know when to use it and when not to.
To date, she doesn’t see robotics or AI replacing that judgment anytime soon. Dentistry has changed a lot over the last two decades, but in her words, technology “is not going to take the skill of the surgeon.”
Built Around Busy Lives
What pushes her to make technology a priority is her patients’ time. Many of her patients are working professionals, and without the right tools, treatment can stretch across many visits, which of course means more trips to the dentist for the patient.
Digital impressions also leave less room for error. With traditional impressions, she explains, accuracy depends on the material, how it was stored, and how the models were poured. Each step in the process adds a chance for distortion.
“So the technology really is more precise,” Dr. Alvarez says. “It provides a better service, it’s much faster, and I think that’s a huge advantage for everyone.”
My Take
Talking with Dr. Alvarez, I’m struck by how openly she discusses the limits of her own tech. As great as the tools are, the skill of the dentist in the chair still matters most. Here’s a trained surgeon who can hand a patient new teeth in a single visit, yet has the discerning eye to know when such a procedure is the right call or not for that particular patient.
That kind of honesty is reassuring. She clearly loves what modern dentistry can do, but her loyalty is to the patient’s biology, not the equipment.
Why Consider Hamlin Periodontics + Implant Dentistry?
Dr. Alvarez has been board certified in periodontics since 2016. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Florida in 2008, earned her dental degree from Nova Southeastern University, and completed her residency in periodontics and dental implants at NYU Langone. She grew up in Cuba.
Her practice offers dental implants, full arch implants, bone grafting, soft tissue grafting, crown lengthening and oral surgery.
Current Offers
The practice website currently lists a New Patient Special for $120, which includes a periodontal exam or implant consult. The special is for new patients only and isn’t valid with insurance or in cases of periodontal disease. Please call the office to confirm details and availability.
Patient Testimonials
Holly H. wrote: “I had an outstanding experience with Dr. Alvarez and the whole team.”
Ana G. shared: “Periodontist Dr. Kenia Alvarez is amazing, very nice and professional.”
Carlos S. said, “Dr. Alvarez and her team provide amazing care.”
Contact Information
Website: https://www.hamlinperioandimplants.com
Appointment request: https://flexbook.me/Hamlin/website
Phone: (407) 504-0689
Email: info@hamlinperioandimplants.com
Address: 15415 Waterbird Rd., Suite 130, Winter Garden, FL 34787
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM
