A Dentist who Fills Cavities and Touches Hearts

The hum of a tooth polisher resonates in a small exam room. Julita Robles sits in the quiet waiting area of Eloisa Crisostomo’s dental clinic while her youngest daughter, Regine, gets her teeth cleaned.

“I have this fear of the dentist because it’s painful,” Julita says.

But Eloisa, known affectionately by her patients as “Doc Eloi” and “Doc,” sees past the fear and offers compassion. “I told her it’s our anniversary because it’s been two years since I last saw her,” Julita says. “She’s not like the ordinary dentist who cares about your teeth. She will take time to ask about your family. I appreciate it because I know she’s also concerned about me.”

Dr. Eloi prays with Julita Robles’ youngest daughter, Regine, after cleaning her teeth.

“The world comes to your clinic.”

Eloi’s clinic, Jeremiah Dental, is located in Metropolitan Manila in the Philippines — a bustling, densely populated area of more than 12 million people. Eloi spends 30 to 40 hours a week at her clinic.

Eloi schedules appointments with patients so she can also talk with them. She takes these opportunities to pray for them and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“When you pray with me, I know God will do something,” she says. “God always, always shows up and proves to the patient He answers prayers.”

Jeremiah Dental offers services from providing dentures to helping with temporomandibular joint problems and orthodontics. Some patients from around the world — as far as Switzerland, the Middle East, Australia and the United States — receive treatment from Eloi while visiting family and friends in Manila.

A friend once told her, “The world comes to your clinic, Eloi.”

Dr. Eloi performs a dental cleaning procedure.

Growing up in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, Eloi began a personal relationship with God in 1980 while attending an evangelistic event. The decision to become a Christian helped Eloi find purpose in life and a sense of security about God’s love for her.

“I grew up believing that I was a good person,” she says. “As I became older, I got exposed to the realities of life.”

During that time Eloi experienced confusion and emptiness and realized something was missing. Her search led her to God, and she now wants others to experience a relationship with Him too. Eloi, the soft-spoken married mother of three, sees Manila as the place where she can heal people’s physical needs while ministering to their spiritual realities.

The Pasig River stretches nearly 16 miles through downtown Manila from Manila Bay.

A hot and humid city, Manila is near the equator, where the sun is intense. Many Filipinos use colorful umbrellas for sun protection.

Ednalin Velasco, Eloi’s dental assistant, regularly sees Eloi’s passion for helping people receive quality care. Quiet and attentive, she stays close as Eloi puts an implant into a patient’s mouth one morning.

Eloi influenced her assistant’s life significantly: In 2006, she led Ednalin to put her faith in Jesus.

As she tends to people’s teeth, Eloi also touches hearts with God’s truth beyond her dental chair.

Eloi wants to encourage people through other parts of her life that include business, marriage, motherhood and friendships.

The gospel message of Jesus motivates Eloi to influence as many people as she can with her life.

Uncovering significance

During a Saturday brunch, six Filipina businesswomen fix their eyes on Eloi as she introduces a game with a silver balloon attached to a stick.

“Put the tip of the stick on your index finger and keep your eyes focused on your finger,” she tells the women.

The balloon falls instantly from their hands. Eloi has them try again, but this time asks them to focus on the balloon instead of their finger, which keeps the balloon upright.

Her game mirrors life. Centering their eyes on stressful circumstances (their fingers) seems better but quickly fails. Trusting God instead (the balloon) brings focus and balance.

Helping groups of professional women mature in their faith as Christians is a strategic move for Eloi. Along with this group that averages eight women at each meeting, she invests her life in three more groups, spending hours each month teaching and mentoring.

She uses The Significant Woman, a discipleship resource created by Cru^®, to help women uncover their personal missions. If she can influence these women and teach them to influence others, more of Manila will hear the truth about Jesus, even if it means personal sacrifices for Eloi.

Eloi meets with one of her Significant Woman small groups in a mall restaurant.

“I have a very tight schedule because of all the demands that I am faced with,” Eloi says. “But there are things that are non-negotiable that I know are important and that have kingdom value.”

With only 24 hours in a day, Eloi doesn’t have extra minutes, even though she could really use them.

The hustle and bustle of her life doesn’t make it easy to live out her passion to serve God and bless her nation in the process. But she chooses to do so even in the face of her limitations.

Pedicab and motorized bicycles are commonly used during the daily city commute in Metro Manila.

A Filipino girl sits with friends on a “trike bike,” a shortened term for a tricycle.

Mentoring that changes marriages

Eloi looks forward to the weekends. They bring rest and moments to minister. This Sunday she attends church with her husband, Cris, and their three children — Caitlin (19), Frances (18) and Nathan, also known as Nash (10). Worshipping at church provides an undivided way for her to connect with God and her family.

Later in their home, Eloi and Cris host a group of young married and dating couples who’ve asked for mentoring that can help them build foundations for healthy marriages.

Eloi and her husband, Cris (center, in plaid), mentor young couples at their home every other Sunday.

Cris poses a question to the three couples gathered at the dining room table, graced with a carafe of carrot juice and a plate of sweet suman — sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves.

“How did you know that he or she would be the person you would marry?”

The table hums with soft laughter as the couples smile at each other and consider their answers.

The conversation continues as Cris and Eloi share experiences from their relationship and parenting. Married for 20 years, the couple met through a Cru ministry to business professionals. The Crisostomos were mentored and desire to speak into the lives of young people now.

“We believe we can help these couples to grow in the Lord in this season of their lives,” Cris says. “We make time for it.”

When the group ends two hours later, Eloi has a moment to breathe.

Taal Volcano, a famous volcano outside of Manila, attracts droves of Manila residents.

Men operate a traditional outrigger boat near Coron, Busuanga Island, one of the many tropical islands in the Philippines.

Why wear so many hats?

The responsibilities in Eloi’s life can be substantial ones to carry. The threat of being spread too thin frequently hovers near.

One Saturday, as a discipleship group ends, her work as a dentist pulls her in a different direction.

“I have to go to my clinic and change my hat,” she says as she quickly gathers her bag and leaves to meet a patient. The dental appointment lasts about an hour.

Afterward, Eloi changes her hat again, this time for her daughter Frances, and jumps into her SUV. Fighting traffic, she meets her family across town for a special photo shoot. Frances is nearly a month away from her debut, a Filipino rite of passage from adolescence to womanhood.

Eloi wanted to apply Frances’ makeup for her pre-debut photos, but she doesn’t arrive in time. The photographers start without her. Seeing Frances camera-ready, Eloi’s smile doesn’t completely cover her disappointment.

The Crisostomos (from left: Nash, Eloi, Frances, Cris and Caitlin) share a family moment during Frances’ pre-debut photo shoot.

Her daughters recognize the challenges that come with having a busy mother. “There are times where she isn’t able to ask me about how school is going or how my extracurricular activities are,” Frances says.

But Frances understands because she sees how tired her mother gets. Caitlin reminds Eloi of things she may have overlooked and helps her mother when she carries too much.

“She gives herself the responsibility to coordinate, schedule and fix everything,” Caitlin says. “It gets difficult to finalize plans when she’s thinking about activities for another group of people for a different time.”

Eloi sees her limitations — and embraces them, even when they stretch her.

“Do I get tired? Of course!” she says. “There are difficult moments in my life, like the recent ones — helping Cait get settled in her new school, Nash getting admitted to the hospital, and I had patients waiting for me to attend to their dental needs.”

In these moments, Eloi says she reminds herself that God is in control and she doesn’t need to feel helpless. The promises of His Word give her peace.

She also finds encouragement when she pulls away from her schedule to have personal devotions, meditate and pray.

Relationships that refresh

Eloi’s mentor, Sandra Ratilla, meets twice a month with Eloi and 15 other women through group mentorship. She teaches biblical truths and provides encouragement.

Sandra sees the pressures that Eloi faces, because Eloi has shared her struggles and asked for prayer. Staying connected to people who encourage her helps Eloi deepen her relationships and care for herself.

Eloi meets with mentor Sandra Ratillia (far left) and other women in Sandra’s mentoring group.

Eloi regularly meets with three friends, Badet Gener, Ann Kuy and Jeng Laureta. One Thursday morning, the four women take a day trip to Tagaytay, about 44 miles south of Manila.

During the drive that passes by green coconut stands and fields of baby pineapples, they talk about their children and their lives, laughing and moving easily between English and Tagalog, both the official languages of the Philippines.

A young Filipino boy rests at a Silang coconut stand. Coconut production plays an important role in the national economy of the Philippines.

Badet Gener (center, in pink) and Eloi shop at a traditional fruit and vegetable open market in Tagaytay.

Motherhood gives them something in common, they say, especially as they share the struggles of raising children. And when they’re discouraged about parenting decisions, they talk to each other and pray for one another.

An hour and a half later, they arrive at a cozy restaurant in the Cavite province. Over plates of squid ink pancit and rosemary shrimp, honest and encouraging words flow between them.

And Eloi seems to exhale a little more. In their presence, she’s not “Doc Eloi,” she’s not a mentor or teacher; she’s simply kapatid (“sister”) and kaibigan (“friend”).

These moments slow her down. They give her rest.

And they remind her that what she regularly pours out to others, God is faithful to pour back into her.

Eloi connects with friend Glenda Clamar in Intramuros, “The Walled City,” and the oldest district in Manila.