News

Will you be in the Oklahoma City area this Saturday?

In honor of Child Safety Protection Month, join us at the Ocean Dental Family Fun and Safety Fair on Saturday Nov 17th!

It's free entertainment for the entire family. See flyer for details.

Ocean Dental proudly opened their newest location on Monday, November  15^th  in Laredo, Texas.   To celebrate opening day, the staff hosted an open house where the community could meet the staff and tour the beautiful facility.  SpongeBob SquarePants was on hand for meet and greet and picture opportunities.   Ocean Dental is very excited to be part of the Laredo community.

Chad Hoecker DDS, owner and CEO of Ocean Dental, wants to ensure that patients have a positive, fun experience while having their dental needs met.  The brightly colored, inviting ocean-themed atmosphere in our clinic is designed with the patient in mind.  The lobby features an interactive children’s area and televisions are mounted above each dental chair to help patient focus on something other than the dental procedures.  Additionally, highly skilled doctors and a friendly, professional staff employ the latest techniques, quality materials and state-of-the-art equipment for ideal dental treatment.

 Ocean Dental is looking forward to offering Laredo the “Ocean” Experience.   Ocean Dental accepts CHIP and Medicaid insurance and also offers a cash discount program for the uninsured.   For more information call 956-728-7412 or visit us at 4817 San Dario Avenue in Laredo.

Ocean Dental of Texas, PC, part of a multi-state dental practice based in Stillwater, Oklahoma will be opening an office in Laredo, Texas. 

Ashley Gobble, Director of Office Development with Ocean Dental, said the target date for the opening is Fall 2010.  The Laredo clinic will be the eighth Ocean Dental clinic in Texas. 

The clinic will offer general dentistry to patients that are TX Chip and Medicaid card holders.  What began a decade ago as a simple desire to meet the needs of some local kids whose parents were unable to find a dentist who accepted Medicaid has grown into a unique, thriving organization. Ocean Dental delivers high quality dental care to this underserved group of people and in early Fall will be accepting appointments for their new clinic in Laredo.

“According to the American Dental Association, tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease.” This, when combined with their findings that children from the lower socio-economic group often leave dental needs untreated, moved our founder, Dr. Chad Hoecker, into action.

Dr. Hoecker has now rallied a team of professionals to not only join him in his concern, but to be the positive solution. "Ocean Dental strives to create a great emotional and physiological experience for our patients and we are excited to get started in Laredo,” said Ocean Dental Chief Operating Officer Joe Akin.

To help accomplish these goals Dr. Hoecker and team have incorporated into each clinic a brightly-colored, inviting, ocean-themed atmosphere with televisions above each chair and an interactive children’s play area.  Additionally, highly skilled doctors and a friendly, professional staff employ the latest techniques, quality materials and state-of-the-art equipment for ideal dental treatment. Akin said the local staff of 11 people will be prepared to offer their patients an “Ocean experience.”

“More than 51 million school hours are lost each year to dental illness. That’s just one example of the ripple effect caused when dental needs aren’t met early on. So, not only do we contribute to one child’s health, but we chip away at startling statistics like this along the way,” said Akin. Ocean Dental believes the type of payment should never dictate the availability of quality dental care. 

The new Laredo location is: 4817 San Dario Ave., Laredo,TX 78041.  For more information about Ocean Dental employment in Laredo, call 405-707-0600 or visit www.oceandental.net

On May 1^st , Ocean Dental of Pharr, Time Warner Cable, and SpongeBob Squarepants teamed up to throw a fiesta in honor of “Cinco De Mayo” for the families of the Rio Grande Valley.

 This is the third time the clinic has hosted a “Meet & Greet”  with SpongeBob Squarepants, and the event just keeps growing with over 500 attending this year.  Attendees  were given the opportunity to meet SpongeBob and take pictures with him, tour the facility and meet our dentist.   This was followed by live music from XHAVO Digital 101.5, food, games and a SpongeBob moon bounce for the kids. 

Ocean Dental would also like to thank the other local businesses, including Chik-fil-A, Nutrishop, and Wienerschnitzel, that joined in to offer games and samples for our guests.

Building a relationship with our community is very important to Ocean Dental and we are happy to be here to serve the families of the Rio Grande Valley.

Tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease, declares the Surgeon General’s May 2000 report on Oral Health in America. Each February, the American Dental Association (ADA) sponsors National Children's Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. Developing good habits at an early age and scheduling regular dental visits helps children get a good start on a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums, states the ADA.

Ocean Dental visited schools in the North East Independent School District (NEISD) to educate over 6,900 elementary school students about the importance of caring for their teeth and gums, demonstrating techniques, such as; proper flossing, brushing and providing general hygiene instructions.

During the month of February, Ocean Dental staff presented dental hygiene education to the following elementary schools in the NEISD district: Montgomery, El Dorado, Royal Ridge, Harmony Hills, Ridgeview, Olmos, East Terrell Hills, Clear Springs, Colonial Hills, Regency Place Redland Oaks; as well as Dellview and Camelot, where they performed free screenings for over 650 students.

“The information was presented in a professional manner and the kids really enjoyed being called on to participate in the hands on demonstrations for flossing,” said Minerva Cortinas, RN, the school nurse at Olmos Elementary. “The students get to hear the same information from me as the school nurse, so when we have a guest speaker, I think it really enforces the subject matter a little bit more.”

Marvis Massey, RN, the school nurse at Montgomery Elementary said, “The students enjoyed the dental presentation by Mr. [Eric] Gomez. He was very informative. The presentation was fit to the kids’ level of understanding. The props were kid friendly. The students had many questions and Mr. Gomez' upbeat response had them asking more and more questions. At the end of the presentation, the students were quoting the information happily and confidently. I am so glad Mr. Gomez came to present the dental health information to our school.”

Ocean Dental provides free programs involving dental screenings and oral hygiene instruction. To date, Ocean Dental has given this cost-free service to over 54,000 children and young adults. This number includes children in more than 100 public schools and over 60 daycares, Head Start and Early Head Start programs. With the overwhelming success of this program, Ocean Dental is energized and gearing up to provide information and instruction to even more children in the future.

Not one ghost, witch, or goblin left without a big smile on their face this Halloween.

On October 31^st, Ocean Dental’s McAllen Clinic participated in a Halloween fair for the local community, where children were able to meet and greet special guest Sponge Bob Square Pants and his buddies, Mario and Luigi. During the event, children were given the opportunity to take pictures, trick-o-treat, eat pizza and play carnival games. The Sponge Bob themed moon bounce was a big hit and the event ended on a high note with costume contest winners announced.

Local businesses in the center, along with our Ocean Dental staff, did a wonderful job at putting together a safe and exciting event for 300 plus guests in attendance.  The kids really enjoyed all the different stations and their parents were very appreciative of everyone’s efforts.

Ocean Dental is a fresh new face in the Rio Grande Valley and we are pleased to be able to work with other businesses and reach out to the community!  Thanks to all that made it possible.

The Ocean Dental Des Moines clinic participated in the annual Kidsfest this year, held on March 5 through 7, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The Ocean Dental booth was one of 113 vendors participating in the event.

“Our staff had a great time. The kids were friendly and the parents enjoyed the goodies. We handed out dental bags, along with tooth brushing charts,” said Ginger Lein, manager of the Des Moines clinic. “We were pleased that a lot of the visitors asked dental-related questions. Several from our staff were able to volunteer and assist at the booth:  Teri Meendering, Molly Boes, Cheryl Schamerhorn, Carissa Thompson, Shawndell Karsten and Crystal Antelman.”

Children & Families of Iowa is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring hope for victims of domestic violence, helping teens find their futures, and creating safe homes for children.

“Over 14,500 parents and children attended the event this year,” said Susan Joynt, Events Manager for Children & Families of Iowa. “We raised over $156,000 for the at-risk children and families we serve. These are much needed funds."

Ocean Dental is committed to improving access to quality dental care for children and adults in underserved communities across the nation. Working at Kidsfest allowed our team to share the message to the general public about the importance of proper dental care. We appreciate all opportunities to get the message out to the community.