New Jersey
Local Hero: Dr. S.

Dr. S. learned his charitable ethics from his father, Dr. Irving Shomer, who taught at NYU’s College of Dentistry and did “a tremendous amount” of dental charity during his 47 years of private practice. Dr. S. still recalls his father’s words: “If this is what you want to do, then share and help others.” In 1988, the younger Dr. S. moved from Queens, N.Y. to the New Jersey shore community of Toms River. Dr. S., who has been involved with DDS since 1995, describes his most recent DDS patient as a deaf woman who lives on $250 a month.  "She’s a wonderful patient," he says. “She used to try to cover her mouth to communicate because she had broken, decayed, and missing teeth.” Coast Oral Surgery performed full-mouth extractions, and Infinity Dental Laboratory fabricated her dentures. “Now,” says Dr. S., “she’s much more open and confident. We’ve received thank you letters from both her and her volunteer sign language interpreter, who has also become a patient.” Dr. S., who does extensive charity work in his community, has high praise for DDS and the program’s state coordinators. “It’s a great program for dentists,” he says, “With DDS you can enjoy charity work without the difficult task of prescreening, and we’re allowed to do all of the treatment necessary for patients in need."