Dr. Will Grella is reshaping what it means to be a neighborhood dentist.
His practice, known officially as Dr. Will Grella DDS General Dentistry, is not just a clinic — it’s a place where The Golden Rule reigns.
And that rule?
“I wouldn’t do anything in anybody else’s mouth that I won’t do in my own,” Grella says, quoting his grandfather, a small-town Illinois dentist who practiced for 40 years.
“He lived by his reputation, and he believed in doing right by people — even when no one was looking.”
That foundational ethos carried over generations and ultimately landed in Long Beach, where Grella now balances the weight of leadership, technology and community care with a rare sense of purpose. But he’ll be the first to tell you: It doesn’t come without gumption and a dedication to do what’s right over what’s most profitable.
From the Navy to Long Beach
Grella earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree at UCLA before serving in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps, where he completed a rigorous residency at Camp Pendleton.
Under the guidance of board-certified specialists — and with thousands of Marines depending on his work to hold up during 12-month deployments — his standards were forged under fire.
“In the Navy, you didn’t have the luxury of doing it over. Your patients might be on a ship, a sub, or in a foxhole somewhere. So, you had to do it right the first time. That level of responsibility made me a better dentist — and a better problem solver.”
After his service, Grella followed his wife Taylor, born and raised in Long Beach, back to her hometown, where the couple laid roots.
“It was a no-brainer,” he says. “She went to Wilson [High School], her whole family is here. Long Beach was always the plan.”
Still, the path to establishing his own practice wasn’t seamless. His first stint at a corporate dental office clashed with his ethics.
“A lot of those places are production-driven. They’re focused on hitting daily numbers instead of whether a patient actually needs the work. I couldn’t work like that. Just because I can do dentistry doesn’t mean I should.”
Building Something Better
So Grella bought his own practice — but what was pitched as a turnkey operation turned out to be a mess.
“The guy I bought it from had a long history of substance abuse. He’d relapsed on nitrous oxide just before the sale,” he says. “I walked in thinking there were 800 patients. There were 200.”
Instead of cutting his losses, Grella rolled up his sleeves.
“For two years, I reworked bad cases, repaired trust and rebuilt from scratch.”
Eventually, the practice garnered 900 patients. Then, as fate would have it, the dentist next door — who had five extra chairs — became ready to sell.
The office now boasts 3D imaging, same-day crown fabrication and a proprietary Invisalign scanner. An oral surgeon rotates in. The practice has gone largely digital, eliminating the need for uncomfortable impressions.
Same-Day Calls and Saturday Shifts
Despite the growth, Grella remains the kind of doctor who gives out his cell number.
“Someone calls me on a weekend, I’ll come in. I’ve left Disneyland to treat someone with a toothache. That’s just part of it.”
He jokes that most dentists “want to help people — between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday.”
But for Grella, the job doesn’t clock out.
“When someone finally comes in after putting it off for eight years, and now they’re in pain — it’s the number one thing in their life. You have to show up for that.”
Fixing the System
Grella has big ideas about what’s broken in dentistry — and it’s not just teeth.
“The insurance companies are completely unhinged from the delivery of care,” he says. “They do nothing to make us more efficient. They just ask you to lower your fees.”
In a perfect world, he envisions dental groups that function more like Kaiser — where providers and insurers are partners, not adversaries.
“When everyone’s in the same boat, you’re less likely to cut corners. You all have skin in the game.”
To better understand that world, Grella recently accepted a position on the Long Beach City Commission for Health and Human Services.
“I don’t expect to change the system overnight,” he says. “But I want to learn how it works. The more you know, the better.”
On Balance, Burnout, and Being a Dad
Ask him about work-life balance and he’ll shrug.
“I don’t think it exists,” he says bluntly. “You hear all these gurus say, ‘Work smarter, not harder,’ or ‘Balance is key.’ But dentistry is hard. It’s stressful. And separating yourself from your work? I don’t know if that’s possible.”
His own outlet is the gym — and his kids.
“They’re two and four. I try to spend as much time as I can with them.”
His wife Taylor, formerly in retail, now helps run the business. Her family’s Long Beach boutique closed in 2020 after 40 years. Just two months later, their son was born.
“It was a huge shift,” he says. “But we’re a team now. This office — it’s not just my career. It’s our livelihood, our community, our legacy.”
The Long View
Looking ahead, Grella isn’t content with just running a successful practice. He wants to help reshape the future of dentistry.
“The field has some serious thinking to do about what it wants to look like in 20 or 30 years,” he says. “And I want to be part of that conversation.”
“I wouldn’t do anything in anybody else’s mouth that I won’t do in my own.”
“The field has some serious thinking to do about what it wants to look like in 20 or 30 years, and I want to be part of that conversation.”