Dr. Greg Hurtado

Photo from Dr. Hurtado’s office

Thanks to Dr. Greg Hurtado and Hurtado Dental, giving back to the community never looked so good.

Through the month of June, patients who book a teeth-whitening service with Hurtado will receive a discount, and all proceeds will go to children’s charities. Fifty percent will go to national organization Smiles for Life, and the other half will stay in the state to help Make- A-Wish Hawaii carry out its mission to make dreams come true for Hawaii’s keiki.

The Waipahu dental office has been participating in the Crown Council effort since 2004, and in the last 10 years has raised more than $55,000, including $3,000 just since April 15. (Since its inception in 1998, the Crown Council, an alliance of dentists around the world committed to promoting oral health, fighting oral cancer and serving their communities through charitable work, has raised more than $36 million for children’s charities.)

“It was something that, just for our entire office, just something we wanted to get behind as far as helping children who are in need,” he explains.

According to Hurtado, so far the majority of people who have come in for the special service are current patients, but anyone (even if they have another primary dentist) can make an initial appointment. All candidates must be approved for the whitening procedure.

“(They can) just call our office and say they want to whiten their teeth for charity,” explains Hurtado. “We’re just happy to do that and happy to have them help us out.”

Hurtado Dental notes that dietary habits, tobacco, fluorosis and medications can cause teeth to become stained, but there are procedures to help put back the white in your smile.

Raising funds for charity is something Hurtado enjoys. To enhance the current effort, he has agreed to wear a tutu each day the dental office raises $100, and hopefully he’ll be donning the costume every day until the campaign ends.

“We’re hoping to help as many people as we can, as far as whitening their teeth, and at the same time they’ll feel good about helping kids out here in Hawaii,” says Hurtado. “It’s not so much that we’re giving back, but it’s part of our culture here to do good for our community.”

Hurtado Dental has been operating in Waipahu since 2007. To schedule an appointment, visit hurtadodental.com or call 678-3000. For more information about the effort, visit smilesforlife.org.