Island Ohana Dental

I have been going to Ohana Dental for several years and they have been wonderful. Everyone is kind and helpful and I have been given excellent care. My wait has never been long and they are very capable so there is very little pain. Also they have never encouraged unnecessary procedures to save me money even though some of my fillings are old very satisfied.

I've had nothing but great service since going to Island Ohana Dentist now for about 12 years. The entire staff is friendly and go above and beyond. Special shout out to Leeann for keeping what little I do have clean. Thanks for the smiles.

Today was my first visit. I entered the reception area and it was clean and inviting. The receptionist was friendly, pleasant and immediately addressed me. It was a busy day, but all of the patients were respectful and considerate. A dental hygienist came to get me to take me into the examination room. It is a large clinic. The examination room had the most modern equipment. My X-rays were expeditiously completed and I didn't have to move out of my chair. Dr. Uehara then came in and he did a visual assessment which was recorded and diagnosed my dental needs. I was very pleased and look forward to being a patient of this clinic

Scheduled an appointment 2 months in advance. I specifically asked at that time if they would accept my insurance and was told yes. The DAY OF my appointment, 3 hours beforehand I get a call saying my insurance wouldn't be accepted because they only take one of the plans offered by my insurer, and not the one I use. Called my insurer and they said the location wasn't in network at all from what they could see. Out of pocket for a teeth cleaning was going to cost $275 when it should've been 0. Rather than accept responsibility for the error they blamed my employer by saying they should be offering the other plan and not the one I was currently using. Be extremely careful if signing on as a new patient that they thoroughly check if they accept your insurance and double check with your insurer just in case.

I love Big Island Ohana Dental. They are our families one stop for all of our dental needs. The staff is always so kind and considerate. Our dentist is always so kind and takes much concern while working on our teeth. We are very happy and thankful to finally have a place to call our dental home. Thank you Big Island Ohana.

I would definitely recommend Island Ohana Dental! It is the best care I have ever received in my 76 years of dental care! The kindness from all of the staff and the Doctor was so appreciated! The dental care from the Doctor and his guidance was so appreciated. Thank You! Judy

We have tried several dentists in Hilo & Ohana is by far the BEST. They are gracious, courteous, accommodating & prices are fair& competitive. All the people are very nice. I have recommended them to several people with no reservations.

I've been going to IOD for nearly a decade but today was the last time. Why? Two main reasons:

(1) The first thing you do when you get there is pay for the work. That has never sat well with me. Despite being a business owner and understanding that folks in our area can be prone to not paying for services, it's always been a sore spot for me. You pay for products up front and you pay for services after they're rendered. That's just standard protocol in my mind. This procedure has always given me the impression they care more about their bottom line than patient care. In my business, taking care of our people is how we address the bottom line. I've liked all the hygienists there but dealing with work more involved than that has always been a bit iffy.

(2) They scheduled me for the wrong work two appointments in a row, which led to wasting a lot of time driving 35 minutes each way to the office. One of my fillings (done by IOD years ago) popped out while flossing. I called to tell them the situation and scheduled an appointment ASAP as the filling was pretty large. When I showed up, they told me I was there for a cleaning! Um, no, I have a hole in my tooth that needs to be filled. Luckily, I was able to see Garrett but instead of doing a filling, he insisted I needed a crown because "that's what I would want". I'm a busy guy, so it's really helpful for me to get as much done every time I make my way into town for these appointments. Two visits later, I was set with the crown.

On my way out from the crown work, I scheduled an appointment for a cleaning and exam + x-rays as it had been about 18 months since my last cleaning. Noting this, the staff at the front desk set me up. Great, one more visit and I'll be set for a while, I thought. I arrived this morning for my cleaning. Get the x-rays, get examined by Garrett. Then I'm told to go to the front desk to schedule my cleaning! WTH?! I voice my frustration to the assistant about the scheduling error and ask if there's any way I can get a cleaning today. Nope. Ok... She takes me to the front desk to schedule and I tell them not to bother and walk out the door. I burned 70 minutes of drive time for a 20 minute appointment that cost me $150. And by the way, I've NEVER had an exam separate from a cleaning... ever. I didn't even know that was a thing. It's like needing an oil change and brake inspection and making them two separate events. It might be convenient for the dentist's schedule but it doesn't work for me and it sure isn't an efficient use of my time.

This may seem like a minor thing for most folks but it really bothers me when people don't respect my time. I'm self-employed so it's somewhat "easier" for me to take the time off (it's still really inconvenient). If I had a regular job, there's no way this type of scheduling would work. Perhaps they're used to unemployed clientele? I don't know. But paying upfront and poor scheduling made me seek another dentist today.

We are so pleased to have found Island Ohana Dental. Everybody there is nice and professional. They take extra care to make sure you are comfortable. It makes me say "I want to go to the dentist." Thank you.

Friendliest and most accommodating office staph. Always smiling and eager to help. The dentist is very gentle and kind and always does what's the very best for the patient. Definitely 5 stars from me!!