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Nonprofit group's mobile facility comes to town with PGA Tour, works from parking lot
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Thursday, Aug 06, 2009
Cuyahoga Falls dentist Don Secrest looked into the mouth of Jesus Terrones on Wednesday and spotted a cavity.
The dentist filled the 9-year-old Akron boy's cavity free of charge.
The work was part of a free dental clinic held at trucking firm YRC on Gorge Boulevard in Akron on Wednesday.
The Christina's Smile Children's Dental Clinic from Austin, Texas, was in town as part of the World Golf Championships' Bridgestone Invitational. Twenty local volunteers, including dentists and dental assistants, spent the day checking the teeth of about 40 children from St. Bernard Catholic Church in Akron.
The mobile dental clinic parked in the parking lot of YRC's Akron campus for a reason.
Not only did YRC employees worldwide raise $750,000 for Christina's Smile, including about $130,000 from Northeast Ohio, last year, but also the mobile clinic is transported around the country for free by YRC Inc., the parent firm of Roadway Express.
The clinic shows up at 21 locations where PGA Tour or Champions Tour tournaments are held each year, said Dr. Richard Garza, founder of Christina's Smile.
Garza, who was in Akron on Wednesday, said the clinic would provide about $25,000 in free dental care to the Akron-area youngsters.
The goal is to treat disadvantaged children without dental insurance.
The nonprofit group has treated more than 40,000 children with more than $17 million in dental care since 1990, and this year is expected to treat 2,500 children with $1.5 million in dental services.
Zully Ramos, a social worker with Catholic Social Services in Akron, brought a group of children from St. Bernard parish to the free clinic Wednesday, including Jesus Gudino, 13, of Akron, originally from Mexico.
Jesus said he was lucky. He had no cavities.
''I don't eat candy,'' he said.
Terry Gilbert, senior vice president of YRC Worldwide, said his company is proud to ''bring smiles'' to so many children through the voluntary efforts of its employees.
He said employees raise money through all kinds of events, ranging from golf tournaments to hot dog roasts.
''What we are here for is to take care of any problems that are treatable,'' said Dr. Secrest.
His chair-side assistant, Margie Crosier of Akron, said she understands the need for early dental care, because the first time she saw a dentist was at a children's home in California when she was just 9 years old.
Dr. Secrest said the goal is to have the youngsters walk out of the clinic healthier.
''We take care of the situation and make things better,'' he said.
For more on Christina's Smile, go to http://www.csmile.com.
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Cuyahoga Falls dentist Don Secrest looked into the mouth of Jesus Terrones on Wednesday and spotted a cavity.
Get the full article here.
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