Colorado
Local Hero: Dr. P.

Dr. P. has worked with DDS since 1999, first in Greeley and then in Steamboat Springs, where he established AvantGarde Dental in 2001.

Originally from Chicago, Dr. P. settled on Colorado’s Western slope because he had always wanted to find “that perfect little small-town place in the mountains.” One of his most recent DDS clients was Ray, who had served his country in the military. “He had worked hard his whole life,” says Dr. P. “His wife has MS and diabetes, and he’s never had a dime to fix himself up.” At the age of 75, Ray was missing many teeth, and those that remained were broken. When he was told that because he had good bone structure, he would receive a full-mouth reconstruction instead of dentures, Ray wept. Dr. P. performed the work on his day off. “The DDS program is there to stand by me,” he says. “It is a lot easier to donate my services when a lab is participating in the DDS program. DDS took me seriously when I told them I wanted to work with people from my community. The look on Ray’s face was all that I had to see—it was indescribable. Volunteering keeps us human,” he concludes. “It’s about giving back what only we as dentists can give.”