Are You Ready to Smile Again?

Hi, this is Jeff. 5 months ago, before the surgery, I was unable to eat a lot of different foods, and couldn’t bite into anything. My self-confidence was a little bit lower. You know, didn’t really smile a lot. Now after getting the procedure done, it’s just so much easier to eat, easier to smile a lot. I got more self-confidence now, for sure.  Highly recommend ALON Hawaii because you get a nice smile after. I’m Jeffrey from Hilo, Hawaii.  Before working with ALON Hawaii and Dr. Greco, to eat was, was difficult. Before I used to look like a drug addict. All pukas namati. I didn’t like the way my appearance looked with all the missing teeth.

What made me say yes to Dr. Greco and their staff was Hilo’s a small town and I heard nothing but good things about Dr. Greco and the amount of work this procedure is going to take, I really wanted to make sure that I came to the best. There is something that might have prevented me from getting? It was the one, the cost. I saw other doctors and I was kinda hesitant. But once meeting with Dr. Greco, she’s so easy to talk to and so thorough with explanation on what needs to be done, you know, why the cost is what it is. You know she made me feel a lot more comfortable and I really felt like I was in good hands with her.

I knew ALON Hawaii and Dr. Greco was right for me because my mom has come here and had procedures done by Dr. Greco and was very pleased with the service and the workers who work here.

What surprised me most about this process was how little pain there was and little discomfort. I expected a lot more. After the first day, that was like the only day there was a little discomfort. I’m not going to even say pain because it wasn’t really that sore.  What I’m able to do now that I wasn’t able to do before coming to Dr. Greco is one, to get ready in the mornings a lot quicker. I previously had dentures so that took a while to get them in. Two, I can eat! It’s so much easier eating now. I’m able to eat pretty much whatever I want to eat. And I get a lot of comments from people who’ve seen me before getting my teeth fixed, how nice it looks.  Oh I’m definitely smiling bigger now. Not even hide the smile.

I would recommend ALON Hawaii, because I have never had a doctor call me on their own time to see how I’m doing. You know, the service that Dr. Greco provides is outstanding. You know, she gave me her email, her cell number told me to call if anything and I felt fine so I didn’t call her, but she called me to check up on me.

She’s just an easy person to work with and you know she really cares about the patient is how I feel.

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Hey, my name is Margaret and I’m shooting this video because I have been treated here in Dr. Greco’s office for probably the last year and a half and have my new dentures and they make me feel much more confident in my leadership positions both in my church and in the league of women voters and I am on Zoom several times a month. I realized that I look much better with my teeth in.  Before that when I had simple dentures I often forgot to put them in before I sat down on my computer, I would have to get up in the middle and go put my dentures in so I could look decent.

I recommend Alon Hawaii because of their treatment of me, the way I look and also the two locations here on the island where it’s really hard sometimes to get services and they’ve made it very easy for me to be served here.

Before working with Alon Hawaii and Dr. Greco, the radiation for the tumor that I had on my tongue which caused all my teeth to fall out, which is why I ended up with Dr. Greco. I was having two times a year appointments with a dentist here in Hilo and he’s the one that sent me to Dr. Greco after he realized that so many of my teeth were falling out and that I needed to get some kind of replacement for those teeth.

What made me say yes to Dr. Greco’s office and staff is that they are really personable and that everyone there seems to know my name and know why I am here.  I knew that Alon and Dr. Greco were right for me after I met with her and dealt with her in the few first sessions and I liked her manner very much and professionalism. What surprised me the most about this process was the printing of my teeth. So when they offered me the option of having printed teeth I was excited by keeping up with the modern age that we live in and so it’s been fun even though it’s certainly not like when I had braces when I was 13 years old.

After Dr. Greco treatment of my mount and my teeth I feel more presentable in public and certainly when I’m on Zoom which I am several times a month I look better than I did when I forgot to put in my dentures and look like a fish face. When I’m with them I feel more equal because I have a presentable mouth.

I recommend Alon Hawaii because of their fair treatment of me and also all of the friendly people here and the fact that there are two different sites on this island where I can be treated so it’s convenient and they made it very convenient for the appointments.

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Hi, my name is Robert. Prior to things I was doing in the past was I can chew things that I don’t have to worry about. To me, that’s a big thing. I can say wow, is this me now? I can smile and not be ashamed of it and to just talk with other people and smile with other people and go out and eat with other people. Man that is so wonderful.

I highly, really, truly recommend Alon Hawaii and Dr. Greco because that’s a life changing experience that you will never, never regret.

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I’m Debra and I have been dealing with dental problems, tooth problems and appearance because of those problems for many years. Now, after working with Dr. Greco I am encouraged that it will soon be at a point where I can not only eat a lot of different types of foods but feel comfortable enough to smile at anyone at any time. This has made so much difference in my life.

Dr. Greco has been amazing and i would recommend her to anyone is wanting to improve their quality of life and the way they feel about themselves.  Before working with Alon Hawaii and Dr. Greco I was in the process of losing teeth over the last few years afraid to smile a lot because I had so many empty spaces.

What made me say yes to Dr. Greco and the staff was their encouraging attitude, assurances that they would be with me through the whole process and just that I would have a good result. If there was anything that might have caused me to not want to do the full tooth extraction was probably the cost. My husband was so encouraging that I needed to have something done and Dr. Greco was likewise encouraging that they could bring me to a point where I would be a lot more comfortable.

I decided that the cost was worth it and this would give me a happier existence. I knew Dr. Greco’s approach was good for me. The right approach because of the way she described it and the fact that I would be able to have the teeth all matching in another approach from another doctor, they were going to do one tooth at a time and the concern was that I would end up with a lot of differences in my teeth process.

I decided that this was the best approach for me. What surprised me the most about this process was that it really isn’t a huge time commitment as the doing one tooth at a time. We had even with the bone grafts, things are moving along smoothly, I’m assured that it won’t be several years before I have a mouthful of teeth again. What I’ve been able to do now that I wasn’t comfortable doing in the past before I started working with Dr. Greco is that I actually feel happier, I feel like I can smile without covering my mouth also that I know that eventually I will be able to eat again fairly normally which hasn’t happened for several years.

I would recommend Alon Hawaii and I have already recommended Dr. Greco because of the encouraging attitude and the fact that she has done such excellent work so far. I have healed very quickly that has not been the case in the past when I have had dental work, oral surgery. This is extremely encouraging to me.

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Hi there, my name is Amelia and I had surgery about a month ago to replace all of my top teeth because they were unhealthy and were not comfortable that I was under a lot of pain but now I can eat anything I want and I can chew without pain and my smile feels great and I highly recommend Alon Hawaii.

Before working with Alon Hawaii and Dr. Greco, I had a lot of problems with my teeth slowly breaking and had a lot of pain every time I tried to eat, it was just very uncomfortable when I would come across a food that was stuck in one of my teeth and I would have to slowly brush it out, there was a lot of pain involved. What made me come to Dr. Greco and really trust Dr. Greco was the first moment that I stepped into the office and she came up to me, she has a wonderful bedside manner, she listened to everything I had to say, she explained all the little pieces and the processes that and I was going to go through and I felt very comfortable.

When the day of my surgery came I wasn’t really that nervous at all. I felt very at ease and even after the surgery she’s been fantastic, I’ve had emails and some phone calls just to make sure that I’m okay, we had a little sore spot which she took care of immediately and everything has been such a fabulous experience. I was really hesitant at first to come in because I did not want to lose the permanent teeth that I did have. However, she let me know where my teeth were heading and how she could help me progress to a point, I was very comfortable taking that step with her because she explained all the steps and made me very confident in my decision on making all my teeth permanent.

I knew Dr. Greco’s approach was right for me because she addressed every issue that I could think of to bring up all my fears, and everything that made me uncomfortable, she put all that at ease and I knew that I was very confident with my choice. What surprised me as well is how fast we got started, she came up with a date that was perfect because I had a guest coming in from out of town and she was like we can get you done and taken care of and out of pain by the time your guest arrives and it was perfect timing, it was very quick and very easy and so I didn’t have a lot of time to worry about it. I think also was a big help, she was just very efficient every single step of the way. I had a partial in and that would affect my speech all the time, I feel like my speech is getting much better every single day and now I can eat and I’m not afraid to put food in my mouth right now, I’m not afraid of the pain of something sparking in my face where I’m gonna have to just stop so very confident in my smile, just such a relief and it feels good too.

I would recommend ALON Hawaii because the whole process from start to finish is explained to you thoroughly, your questions are all answered and you are comfortable both with the procedure, the people who are involved with the procedure your aftercare from start to finish.

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Jake from Honokaa, Hawaii.

Before implants I was at home a lot. I was a recluse, I didn’t really want to go out. I didn’t want to work in places where I had to talk to people. So, I was doing a lot of manual labor work and stuff where I didn’t have to be around people.

The staff was over here is amazing. They were all very, very helpful. Lots of information and I felt like I knew the procedure and what we were doing from all the info that we were getting from them. They were very helpful.

I felt so comfortable with everything and comfortable that I was going to get everything fixed all at once. What surprised me the most was how painless and then how quick it was to be able to leave with teeth and a smile right away. It was pretty amazing.

Moving forward my life is going to be a lot more different because I can actually, like work in places where I’m speaking to people. I enjoy smiling and talking to people now and I’m not going have to go right back into doing more manual labor work like I was for a while.

I would recommend this to anybody because it was a life changer. The process was great. The people over here are great. Everybody worked really, really hard together it’s been an amazing thing for me, for sure. I didn’t have much when I didn’t have many teeth.

My confidence has come back a lot. It’s made me want to go out and do things a lot more than just sit at home and hide from people, really. Get their money together and do do this because it’s worth it, it’s worth every penny. My cheeks hurt I’ve been smiling so much.

 My name is Lily Wamar and I’m from Kealakekua on the Big Island. It started, I want to say, about five years ago. My bones were, like, deteriorating. So my teeth were constantly falling out. So as the years went by, my speech got a lot worse. I couldn’t eat pretty much anything. And it was horrible. My smile was horrible. Just. It was horrible. But after, you know, after the surgery and all of that, it brought me so much happiness. And I can smile, and my confidence is through the roof.

It was actually a very hard decision. Considering I didn’t know what it was going to turn out to be, the financial part, you know. But after about a year talking about it, doing the research on it, and I finally came to a conclusion that I’m going to get this done. I did my research on Doctor Joan Greco, and her work is amazing. Her work is amazing. Her staff is unbelievably good. You know, they made me feel right at home. You know, there was never an awkward moment. They’re very family oriented. My girls love them. Love them. But, yes, it it’s it was just a really, really amazing opportunity. And I am glad that I did take this opportunity.

I’ll say, after getting it done, it’s worth every dime. Every single dime. dime.

I never took not one painkiller. The whole surgery, I never felt nothing. You know, being sedated. It was. It was amazing. The whole thing was just amazing. My my friends say, wow, you know, every time, when I talk to them about it, you know, I, I’ve told them, like, from the beginning to the end, and they wow about it, you know? None of them has ever been through what I have. You know, they all have beautiful, natural teeth. So, people that I have run into that I do see, that have problems with their teeth. I do mention it to them, you know, and this it always comes down to the price, you know. And I told them that, you know, it’s it’s remarkable. 

It’s remarkable. The feeling is just it’s worth every single penny.

It’s been really, really good. Like I said, I’ve never smiled this much. I would recommend it to everyone. To everyone. I think Doctor Joan Greco and Doctor Garrett Oka, so much. I wanted to smile again. I really did. I wanted my confidence back. I wanted people to look at me differently. And that’s what they did for me. Do it. It will change your life.

I never thought that I’d be able to smile like that again.

Look at me now! My name is Sunny Jean Inn, I’m from the Ka’u district on the Big Island. As I was having problems looking in the mirror because the teeth were too big on the bridge. So every time I smiled it was like all teeth.  So that was just the bridge. And then, Doctor Oka said I had broken teeth in the gum. The real teeth in the back. So he said, gotta pull. So if I pulled that, that was the anchor for the bridge. So I had to take it all out.

I was forced to do that because then I would be with no teeth. I know I could get the money, you know, to do it. It’s just I was, you know, when came to do that, the anchor teeth gotta come out so then I did it. But I really didn’t like the bridge, because, like I said, the teeth was too big. Was look fake, you know what I mean, because the bottom work, but, you know, because the bottom work, but, you know, it’s removable, so you always gotta take them off, clean them and… when Dr. Oka said, oh, this is gonna be permanent. You don’t have to take it off. I was like, oh yes, we need that. Yes.  And you know, you gotta glue um up, and when you’re talking, laughing thing fall out. No, no.

The whole thing was really…easy. Easy on me anyway because they just did their job, I came in, they put me out. Boom, boom, boom. I’m walking out with new, you know, temporaries.  So I just had to be picked up because of the anesthesia, but yeah, everything went smooth. I think was wow. Nice.  Because the one he made this time so wasn’t like the bottom one straight across like, this one looked more real, right? You know, how the thing curve and stuff with the regular bridge one was straight across. Yeah, that’s ugly. I’m stoked, I’m happy. It’s worth it.

They told me exactly what was going to happen. They put me under anesthesia. You know, I never know. I was talking in my sleep over there, but when I got up and he put the temporary, I was like, wow. That was felt like, ten minutes, but I don’t know, was what couple of hours. Right. Yeah, that was okay. Plus, I thought, oh okay, this is Friday, August 1st.  I’m probably going to be in pain for, you know, at least a week, but I wasn’t. There was no pain in my gums at all. Like if I wasn’t retired and I had to go to work on Monday, it’d be no problem. Yeah, you know what I mean?

Go see Dr. Greco and, Dr. Oka. Because it’s like, if you get the money, just do it. Why wait until one crack? Then you go do them. Just do it. You know?  I think both of them in collaboration, working together, they’re great. You know, they both friendly, professional.  They’re really, really nice people. And the staff, the staff is the best.

You know, when you go to doctor’s offices, dentists, people grouchy, not friendly. You guys is always, like, bubbly. And so, you know, you don’t feel scared or anything, you know? So they just, like I said, they’re, they’re really the professionals. They’re really friendly. They have a sense of humor, which I like. Yeah, they just work well with everybody you know, staff, you know just it worked correctly all the way. No, no, mess ups you know. I tell everybody you guys got to go for them. Cause it’s good fun. And you know, you know, Dr. Garrett Oka. He’s really handsome too, my dentist.

First and foremost, the entire office is outstanding. I have tremendous confidence in all of them, and I love what she did—I really do. It was amazing, perfect.

I’m originally from Washington state, now living in Keaau. I couldn’t eat right, and the pain was uncomfortable at times, with infections coming and going, so I knew something had to be done. It didn’t take much to convince me because I trust her completely with my mouth. Health-wise, she’s probably one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, and she’s very passionate about what she does, just like the rest of the staff. It didn’t take much for me to realize this was the best way to go.

Financially, it was tough being retired and on a fixed income, but at the same time I needed to do something that would positively impact my life. In the long run, it made sense because I didn’t want to keep going downhill—this gave me a way forward, and that’s exactly what it did.

The procedure went well, and I barely even needed the pain medication that was prescribed. Having an office staff like this makes everything so much easier—they’re on top of everything and ahead of the game in ways you don’t even think about. Every single person I’ve met there is passionate about what they do. It might be a tough job at times, but you wouldn’t know it—they’re down to earth, grounded, and truly involved with their patients, and it shows. They love what they do and bring their best every single time. I’ve never had a visit where I was disappointed.

I’ve told her before, out of all the physicians I have—and I have quite a few—she’s my favorite. Not many people can say their oral surgeon is their favorite physician, but I can. There’s just an energy in that office that’s upbeat and positive. Go get informed, go talk to her, have a consult—don’t be frightened. Understand that what you’re doing is improving your health mentally, physically, and emotionally.

I would absolutely recommend it. I have no regrets. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I know how I feel, and I’d recommend it. I’m the biggest chicken—I don’t like needles or being poked—but sometimes you just have to do what’s best for your health. Don’t be a chicken about it—do what makes you happy. You couldn’t trust a better person. She’s awesome.