The Dental Institute

Hello friends,

I am the founder and president of The Dental Institute, a nonprofit organization that helps improve access to dental and specialty care in California’s Inland Empire. I founded this organization because I saw while working at dental schools and free clinics how many people suffer needlessly from dental problems that could have been easily treated and prevented if people had access to quality dental care earlier in their lives.

While at this organization we aim to improve the lives of everyone, a special project that is dear to my heart is to assist Pacific Islanders who want to pursue careers in dentistry, dental education and dental research. I was lucky enough to have lived in Hawai’i and had a native Hawaiian teacher as a mentor along with my Samoan, Guamese-Chinese, and native Hawaiian friends. I’ve learned since then that Pacific Islanders have some of the worst oral health problems, but there are hardly any Pacific Islander dentists, dental educators, or dental researchers. To become those, it takes mentoring and experiences, and these are hard to get for a young person whose relatives and people have no connection to dentistry. I think we can help with this at The Dental Institute by developing internships and dental assisting positions.

If you know anyone who is interested in becoming a dental assistant, dental hygienist, dentist, dental researcher, dental educator or wishes to give Pacific Islanders a role in shaping dentistry, please reach out.

Here is some information about our non-profit:

• Mission: Improve oral health and quality of life for people with complex medical and dental needs through education, research, prevention, and treatment support.
• Vision: A community where no one is failed by dentistry and everyone can access honest, respectful, high‑quality care.
• Populations Served: Low‑income individuals, medically complex patients, Native American and Pacific Islander communities, and residents of rural areas across the Inland Empire, High Desert, and adjacent regions of Kern, Inyo, Los Angeles, and Orange Counties.
• Current Focus Areas: Free continuing education and telementoring for dentists treating complex cases, using the Project ECHO® model, Creating high‑quality predental experiences for individuals from underserved communities.
• Structure: Incorporated in 2024, operating with all‑volunteer leadership, a small board, and transparent financial reporting (gross receipts under $50,000 in 2025).