Jeff Joy, D.D.S.
Dental Council of NZ ID: 9745
Areas of interest:
General Dentistry, Dental Surgeon
Orthopaedic orthodontics
Qualifications:
B.A. Cellular Molecular Genetics
Doctorate degree Dental Surgery
American College of Dentists Achievement Awardee
Linkedin →
Jeff’s story
EARLY LIFE AND CAREER
Jeff was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Southern California. While his father was a dentist, the idea of becoming one himself wasn’t on his mind. In fact, by 18 years old Jeff had become a licensed building contractor instead, pursuing a love of making things.
After graduating high school in 1978, Jeff went on to study a Bachelor of Arts in Cellular Molecular Genetics at Humboldt State University in California, although the idea of being stuck in a lab all day didn’t appeal. After a year off working as a builder, and then with some encouragement from his father, he eventually switched to medicine – working two jobs (as a supermarket clerk and waiter) to pay his way through a doctorate degree at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry. For his hard work and determination, Jeff was awarded the American College of Dentists Achievement Award, given only to the top student of a graduating class.
Three months after leaving university, Jeff bought into a dental practice in Downey, California and spent the next two decades growing his skills and learning all he could from his experienced peers.
MOVING TO NEW ZEALAND
In 2005, Jeff was married with two children and considering what should come next. Back then, the economic and political climate of the US wasn’t great, making Jeff and his wife nervous for their future, and for the future of their children. In the end, they decided the right thing to do was move overseas, to New Zealand.
Landing in Whangārei, Jeff settled in to Kowhai Court Dental on Rust Avenue and began to learn how life in New Zealand could be pretty different to the US, particularly when it came to people’s teeth. He found that a lot of patients here had traumatic past experiences with their school’s dental nurse, and many more Kiwis felt the dentist was too expensive to afford. With cost and comfort such big concerns, people just weren’t going to the dentist until it was absolutely necessary.
For Jeff, this was a moment of inspiration. He knew he could make a real difference if he focused on these two factors. He built a new Kowhai Dental office on Maunu Road in 2009 and began setting it up to be a modern, comfortable, high-quality dental practice with a focus on patient comfort, affordable treatment, and producing oral health outcomes that lasted.
CHANGING THE INDUSTRY
Immediately Jeff ran into a problem: dental suppliers in New Zealand charged almost double for the same goods that he was used to purchasing in the US. Basically, Kiwis were paying too much. So what is someone to do in this situation?
Well, get their own supply of course!
Jeff and a friend started Jeda Dental, a dental supply company, sourcing supplies from around the world and offering them to dentists in New Zealand at a much more reasonable price. He hoped this would force the industry to make a positive change, and, well… it worked! While this did upset existing suppliers, they brought their prices down in line with the rest of the world. These days, the cost of dentistry in NZ is much the same as other Western countries, and Jeff has been able to pass on those savings to his patients at Kowhai Dental.
Over the years to follow, patient demand continued to increase at Kowhai and Jeff expanded the practice. He brought in more doctorate-trained dentists to Northland, opened a second facility to offer more treatment options, and even went back to study – this time advancing his skills in orthopaedic orthodontics so that he could help his own daughter, who required treatment.
Now, Jeff spends his time continuing to provide the best care he can to the people of Whangārei and Northland, looking for new ways to provide better comfort, reduce costs and increase patient outcomes. He spends his downtime riding motorcycles with his son, fishing, and holidaying in the South Pacific with his family (Rarotonga is his favourite!). He also enjoys golf, staying fit and has recently taken up kitesurfing.