Staff Spotlight: Dr. Isaac Fu

By Clare Jensen

For Puyallup Tribal News
cjensen@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: November 13, 2008

Isaac Fu got his start in the dental world as a sterilization technician during his early college years. There he witnessed the orthodontist at work, and was even able to try his hand on some minor procedures.

Isaac Fu attended the Univer-sity of Washington from his time as an undergraduate throughout dental school and chose to specialize in orthodontics.

He graduated in 2006 and has worked at the Puyallup Tribal Health Authority since.

“Part of the reason I decided to specialize in orthodontics is because it’s nice to be able to give them (patients) a good healthy smile… and I really didn’t like giving shots to kids when I was a general dentist,” he said.

Because of the limited space at the PTHA dental clinic, specialized doctors, such as Isaac Fu and the pediatric dentist, only work two days a week.

Isaac Fu sees orthodontic patients every Thursday and Friday.

The rest of the week, Isaac Fu works out of his private orthodontic practice in Bonney Lake.

Being able to get a taste of both public and private practices, Isaac Fu said he appreciates the level of service he is able to offer at the PTHA.

“When you’re in private practice, you have a lot of other things to manage on the business side of things like ordering, inventory, insurances, and staff… here at the PTHA I can focus purely on treatment needs without the distraction of the business side of things.”

Isaac Fu said he enjoys many aspects of his job, but the patients and staff he interacts with at the PTHA are the highlights of his work.

“I treat the patients as if they were my own kids, and there is just a mutual respect with the staff there.”

He said he appreciates the Native culture at the PTHA in particular.

“One thing I really appreciate is that there is a respect for elders and the older generation that we don’t see too much in today’s society…I think people could really benefit from that.”

Isaac Fu currently lives in Bellevue but is planning on moving to the Edgewood area in the near future to be closer to the PTHA and his private practice. He and his wife of six years are expecting their first child in May.

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