LIHU‘E — Ten people needing dental work and not having the means to afford it were treated for free Wednesday by Farid Shaikh and Joseph Chu of Kaua‘i Endodontics. “This is something I ran into while practicing on the Mainland,”
LIHU‘E — Ten people needing dental work and not having the means to afford it were treated for free Wednesday by Farid Shaikh and Joseph Chu of Kaua‘i Endodontics.
“This is something I ran into while practicing on the Mainland,” said Chu, a New York native who now practices on O‘ahu and Kaua‘i. “This office I worked for did free dental work for patients every Valentine’s Day. I felt that something like this is the perfect way to give back.”
Chu, who along with Shaikh form the backbone of Kaua‘i Endodontics, said giving back and being able to make a difference in people’s lives were primary reasons he chose to pursue his studies in endodontics.
“Do you realize that Kaua‘i had no endodontists for a long time?” Chu said. “Patients who needed work done had to fly to O‘ahu.”
The discovery in 2010 led Chu and Shaikh to form Kaua‘i Endodontics, a practice where the two doctors fly over to Kaua‘i on Wednesdays and Saturdays to service patients in all phases of non-surgical and surgical endontic care. They share offices with Michael Bailey of Lihu‘e, but have their own equipment and staff.
“It makes for very long days on the two days we come out, but the people of Kaua‘i, like the people in Hawai‘i, are so appreciative,” Chu said. “We both practiced at a clinic in Kalihi for the underserved, and just got sucked in. There is something about the people, the culture.”
For the inaugural free dental work day, Chu said he worked with the Waimea and Kapa‘a clinics to come up with five candidates from each clinic, the 10 patients needing to have work done and either not being able to afford it, or not being adequately insured to have the work done.
“We also tried to keep everything structured so patients would not be here waiting for a long time,” Chu said. “Everything is done ahead of time, and with the help of the clinics, we are assured the patients who need work will be here to get the work done. We know how hard it is when you have to wait around.”
Endontic treatment, or root canal work, allows an individual to keep his natural teeth as a foundation for chewing and biting.
More than 14 million teeth a year receive endontic treatment, states a flier on endontic treatment, and patients to Kaua‘i Endodontics are usually referred to them by dentists.
Both Chu and Shaikh are members of the American Association of Endodontists and pride themselves with being able to practice the specialty of endodontics at its highest level.
Kaua‘i Endontics is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Call 482-3060 or email chuendo@gmail.com for more information.
