COMMUNITY NEWS
Dientes: 69 Seniors, $31K in Dental Care, No Bill
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n Aug. 7,, Dientes hosted “Give Seniors A Smile Day,” at the main clinic on Commercial Way in Santa Cruz, treating 69 people and providing $31,337 in oral health services at no charge. Last year, the annual event for low-income, uninsured seniors, was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, Dientes brought the event back with safety protocols. Staff decorated the office with a ‘70s theme and classic tunes. Smiles were abundant. Patients shared their gratitude. Laura Lee, a senior who helps care for her son with Parkinson’s disease and dementia and his epileptic daughter, says everything has been so much harder since COVID began. “You have no idea how much I have been fighting for my family,” she said. “You’ve got to push so much. So, to get a call from Dientes asking me to come in on Saturday to get my teeth cleaned for free – that was just unbelievable. The young man who worked on my teeth was delightful. I thought, gosh did I go to heaven and not know it?” In June, she visited Dientes after she lost a large filling and had trouble chewing. “It was bad, but Dientes fit me in and I was so elated,”
Laura Lee was surprised and pleased to get a free dental cleaning at Dientes during Give Seniors a Smile Day. she recalled. “Getting that taken of was one less problem in life. And, I could eat again.” 1,800 Dental Patients n 2015, Dientes opened a dental center on Freedom Boulevard in Watsonville to provide affordable care for Medi-Cal recipients and people without dental insurance. Now bilingual staff see more than 1,800 adults and children a year.
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“The need for dental care for Medi-Cal recipients and those without insurance is great,” said “Many of our 11,000 patients and staff are in Watsonville,” said Dientes CEO Laura Marcus. “When we had an opportunity to expand access to care, address transportation as a barrier, and reduce commute time, we were happy to partner with the County of Santa Cruz.” Dientes is on county property, next to the county’s Watsonville Health Center, a vision that took four years to come to fruition. At first, the dental office had four chairs. Now there are five, with more services for children, a Panorex X-ray to get a view of teeth, the jaws and sinuses. The most challenging time came last year when COVID-19 shut the clinic except for emergency care for eight weeks. No One Plans Being Poor aralyn Reed, who has lived in Santa Cruz County for 50 years and worked at convalescent homes as a license nurse before retiring, is grateful for Dientes. She no longer drives, the clinic is close to where she lives, and her situation is unusual in that she is eligible for Medi-Cal. “I wouldn’t have any teeth or the ability to eat if it weren’t for Dientes,” she said. “They made a dramatic difference in my life and in my ability to keep my health.”
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www.tpgonlinedaily.com Aptos Times / August 15th 2021 / 11
