Standing in new dental offices in the Queens’ MarketPlace, former Waimea dentist Craig Fostvedt was glad to be back on the Big Island.
Fostvedt sold his practice, Family Dentist, three years ago to take care of his ailing mother. A few years on the mainland was an eye-opener for a man who had been in the islands since 1976.
“It was a lot busier, a lot more congested and fast-paced,” Fostvedt said of his time in Santa Fe, N.M. “Maybe it was just me, after kicking back in Hawaii that long. Maybe it’s the style of people in Hawaii — a little more hopeful and open.”
“My mother was 92 and she wasn’t producing red blood cells and we knew what was on the way,” Fostvedt continued. “We were glad to be with her in the last year of her life.”
Sept. 15, Fostvedt opened Waikoloa Dental Clinic after a year working with the Hamakua Health Center’s Amazing Tooth Bus and laboring to convert an empty space on the second floor of the Queens’ MarketPlace into a facility suitable for his work.
The clinic is strategically located in a fairly central yet underserved area, the dentist said. Population growth in Waikoloa Village and the makai resort areas is expected to bring a mixed clientele of visitors needing same-day appointments for emergency work, and residents taking advantage of the clinic’s proximity.
“It’s nice for resort employees not to have to take an entire day off to go to the dentist,” Fostvedt said.
The clinic’s work includes crowns and bridges, cosmetic dentistry, extractions, root canals, gum treatment, whitening, dentures, partials, family dentistry and orthodontics.
“I’m a general dentist,” Fostvedt said. “I’ll do it all, whatever comes in.”
The compact but comfortable and light-filled office has two operatories, with in-chair X-ray capabilities, lab and a separate panoramic X-ray station. A fifth room may be turned into an additional operatory or space for a dental hygienist in the future.
Fostvedt plans to continue working for the Amazing Tooth Bus a couple of days a week. The bus offers dental care for North Hawaii’s uninsured and QUEST-eligible children and adults. But because the bus does not offer crowns, partials or dentures, Fostvedt said he is willing to offer a discount and work with uninsured patients needing those procedures at his new clinic.
Office administrator Tanya Keanu said she will work with patients in a confidential setting to determine the care they need and a suitable financial plan. The clinic accepts most insurance plans.
“We are all about the patient,” Keanu said. “From the first phone call to the procedure to walking out the door.”
For more about the clinic, visit waikoloadental.com.