John GrossiHeartwell Dental: Dentistry with Heart
By John Grossi
Home is where the heart is, and Heartwell is now home to one of Long Beach’s most passionate young dentists, Dr. Abraam Girgis, a leader in his field.
Practice Makes Perfect
In 2020, Dr. Girgis bought his practice near Heartwell Park from long-time local dentist Dr. Thomas Hanson. In one sense, it is the climax of his dream to own a dental practice in the city that gave him so much growing up. But it’s also just the start of Dr. Girgis’ motivated career, one that he is approaching much differently than your average dentist.
“I’m obsessed with the mentality of pushing yourself to be the best you can be in your career. I constantly ask myself, how can I get better at my craft all the time?”
For the last 6.5 years Dr. Girgis has never stopped learning. He takes weekly online courses and every other month flies around the country attending conferences to make sure he is not only aware of the latest dental discoveries, but gains hands-on practice with everything related to his craft.
“In dentistry, once you’re established, it can be easy to coast because you can focus on the ‘bread and butter basics’ of dentistry and send everything else out to a specialist,” says Dr. Girgis. “At my office, we focus on knowing as much as possible so that we can best educate and help patients.”
Dr. Girgis does send patients to specialists for certain procedures, but there is always an informed reason as to why that decision is best. In most cases, patients have the choice to stay in-house for treatment and have peace of mind knowing that Dr. Girgis uses the most up-to-date techniques, materials and equipment.
Treating Patients Like Family
Options and knowledge are two ways in which Dr. Girgis fulfills his promise to treat all patients like family.
“I know it sounds cliché but I want my patients to know that I really do act like it’s my mom sitting in that chair. What would I recommend to her? What knowledge would she want to learn? Educating the patient on every part of the dental experience is a guarantee at my practice.”
Bringing It All Back Home
Dr. Abraam Girgis grew up in Lakewood and attended Long Beach Poly before heading to UC Irvine on a pre-med track. While volunteering at a hospital as an undergrad, Dr. Girgis did not enjoy the model of being a physician as much as he had hoped. On the contrary, when he volunteered under a dentist, he fell in love... with the practice, the art of running a business, helping people get out of pain, and improving the confidence of patients through cosmetic procedures.
After attending Marquette University School of Dentistry, Dr. Girgis moved back home and worked in Lakewood and Los Alamitos before buying his practice in Long Beach.
Long Beach isn’t just a place to open a business for Dr. Girgis, it is a city he feels is unmatched around the country. He has convinced many of his post-grad friends from around the L.A. area to move to Long Beach and has just bought a home here himself. With his roots planted, Dr. Girgis is thrilled to not only operate a business in this community but to become an active member of the neighborhood!
This year, Dr. Girgis took over the “Dentist seat” on Long Beach City’s Board of Health and Human Services. He is happy to give back to his community in that advisory role, as well as in other roles such as sponsoring youth sports teams.
This is just the beginning of Dr. Girgis’ career in Long Beach and he is welcoming new patients to come see what “dentistry with heart” means!
If you’re interested in scheduling your first appointment, you can contact his office at:
(562) 421-9411
3840 Woodruff Ave Suite 202 Long Beach, CA 90808