Over 50 individuals in the Avondale community received free dental care at Bright Now! Dental on February 24, 2018.
“[It is] great to have so many people willing to help.” Herbert Tutrone, along with many other patients who received care that day, was very appreciative of the opportunity to receive free dental care after not having been to the dentist in over 12 years.
Volunteers from Smile Brands’ affiliated Bright Now! Dental offices all around Arizona came together on Saturday morning to provide free dental services to the local low-income community. Patients served were referred by local nonprofit organizations that work to provide services to people including underserved youth, victims of domestic violence, individuals overcoming substance abuse, and the homeless. Many patients have not had a proper cleaning in many years.
Lonnie Pittman had not received any dental care in over five years. This lack of care had caused some major black buildup around the gums of most of his teeth, resulting in the need for a deep cleaning. Lonnie came into the Bright Now! Dental office in Avondale about a month before the event with a flyer in hand saying he wanted to make an appointment. He said he had gotten a box of food at a local food pantry and when he saw the flyer inside, he was so excited. He told the staff that he would have called but did not have a phone so he walked over to the office to schedule an appointment. Our team was able to do a full SRP on his teeth, and Lonnie left feeling ecstatic and very grateful for the services he received.
Lulu Ybarra went to a dentist for an extraction in 2015 but had not had a proper cleaning since she was 21 years old. She is currently in recovery from using drugs, which caused a lot of decay and other problems with her teeth. Lulu is very thankful for this opportunity, and is continuing to work on fixing her teeth. Her husband John received care as well, and had not been to a dentist in an even longer time. John is missing a couple teeth and is currently looking for a place that can provide him with dentures or implants free of charge. He says he really likes to smile but is embarrassed to do so because of the missing front teeth. The Smiles for Everyone Foundation team told the couple about our scheduled dental implant day coming this May in Northern California, and they are very interested and plan to look into the opportunity.
Overall, the Bright Now! team was able to provide nearly $30,000 in donated dentistry. Smiles for Everyone Foundation and the Bright Now! Dental team will be back delivering more Smiles to the Arizona community in October, but the next Day of Giving will be held at A+ Dental Care in Roseville, CA on March 10, 2018.
