Dr. Jill Jenkins Earns the Harry M. Klenda Award

Dr. Jill Jenkins was awarded the Harry M. Klenda award at the Annual Meeting in Kansas City on April 9, 2016. Dr. Jenkins efforts on the New Dentist Committee have been instrumental in providing guidance and leadership for our members dentists. Also, Dr. Jenkins hosted the New Dentist Committee reception during the KDA Getaway in Scottsdale, Arizona. 

Dr. Jill Jenkins graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas high school in 1994. In her junior year of high school, she was fortunate to cross paths with the “Dynamo of the Dental School”, Dr. John Haynes, who introduced her to the profession of pediatric dentistry. It was then that she knew pediatric dentistry would be her life-long passion.

Dr. Jenkins attended the BA/DDS 6 year program, where she met and married her husband, Dr. Brad Jenkins, in 1999. She served as Xi Psi Phi president and graduated receiving the Dr. Iwersen Award for excellence in pediatric dentistry in 2000. After relocating and practicing in Western Kansas for 3 years, and having two beautiful daughters, Dr. Jenkins applied and was accepted into the pediatric residency program at UMKC and Children’s Mercy.  It was during her two years in residency with her co-resident, Dr. Michael LeBlanc, that the practice Jenkins & LeBlanc was born. After almost 11 years providing care to the children of Johnson and Wyandotte counties, and adding her delightful son Will to the family along the way, it is still a passion for Jill to provide a fun and exciting experience for every child she cares for. She has been named a Top Dentist in the area for many years and the practice has also received numerous awards and accolades.

Dr. Jenkins has been involved locally with the Fifth District Dental Society as membership chair for the last few years and received the honor of Chairperson of the Year for 2015. This past year, she had the honor to serve the Kansas Dental Association on the New Dentist Committee. Working with our ADA liaison and KDA officers, Dr. Jenkins hopes to continue the membership growth for the newest generation of dentists in Kansas and foster avenues for involvement in organized dentistry. She looks forward to many more years of service to our organization and profession.

Thank you again, Dr. Jenkins, for your fantastic efforts on New Dentist committee and to support the dentistry profession as a whole.