The dental office of Drs. Elrod, Green & Hyland have welcomed a new team member.

Dental associate Dr. Kristen Templeton joined the practice on Nov. 2.

“We wanted to add an associate dentist to our practice to help better serve the needs of our patients and Dr. Templeton is the perfect fit for our office,” Dr. Bobee Hyland said in a press release. “Dr. Templeton is compassionate, caring and makes the patient’s comfort a priority.”

Templeton was born and raised in Edina, Minnesota. She attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Science. She went on to graduate from Creighton University School of Dentistry in 2014.

After graduating from Creighton Dental School, Templeton completed her General Practice Residency at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration (VA) Health Care System Dental Clinic from July 2014 to June 2015 and has remained at the VA Dental Clinic as a staff dentist.

While attending Creighton Dental School, Templeton met Dr. Nick Kenning. Templeton and Kenning were married in 2015 and have relocated to southern Minnesota. Kenning is also a graduate of Creighton Dental School, and is doing his Oral Surgery Residency at Mayo Clinic. Outside of work, Templeton enjoys scuba diving, skiing, running and walking with her friends.

“I am really looking forward to joining the team at Drs. Elrod, Green & Hyland,” she said in the release. “I wanted to be a part of a private practice that had a real sense of community and I see that here in Austin.”

When asked why she entered the field of dentistry Dr. Templeton said laughingly, “Genetics. My parents are both dentists, but I wanted to become a dentist simply to make people smile.”

The Elrod, Green & Hyland office has served the Austin community for almost 75 years. Their staff includes 15 team members who offer routine care, adult orthodontics, dental implants, same-day crowns, conscious sedation dentistry and emergency dental care as well as state-of-the-art digital imaging.

For more information, contact Drs. Elrod, Green & Hyland at 507-437-8208.