JUNE 2022

​The Dentists of Sonoma Professionals Share - A Salute!!


Can't begin to tell you how much it means to have the Sonoma Professionals Share Program.  It is working.  Today I would like to tell you about the dentists who participate.  They each signed up for one client and they have all either taken a second, third, (Dr. Groff I think is on #4) .  It is an amazing process and has worked wonders in so many ways.  Chronic tooth pain is excruciating!  An ugly mouth is debilitating.  Tooth disease is life threatening.  Our dentists have worked wonders.
1.  Shayla - A young beautiful woman with wisdom teeth infected and painful.  Terrified of getting them removed.  Dr. McMahon made it painless.  She now doesn't have to go to the emergency room every few months to get antibiotics to deal with the pain as there isn't any.
2.  Greg - A lovely man whose dentures got washed away in the flooded creek which he was camping nearby.  Dr. Groff made him new dentures.  He now has his smile back and can sing, which he loves to do.  He is an old song and dance man by profession.  Greg also has cancer and has been having chemo and radiation treatments.  He has lost a lot of weight.  He is so grateful to be able to eat solid foods with his new teeth.  He feels they have saved his life.  He also looks years younger which appeals to his vanity!!
3.  Maria - A young woman who has recently gotten a really good job.  She is trying to prove herself and works hard wanting to get her and her children housed.  Dr. Tom Halliday has been fixing her smile for which she is very grateful.  Feels it will help her be more professional looking at work and help her present well when looking for housing.  And yes, she is a young beautiful woman and enjoys looking pretty again.
5.  Christine - Thanks to Dr. Groff, Christine is getting her teeth replaced and infections cleaned up.  She was in pain and needed dental care.  Christine feels it will help her get a job as she will be able to present well.
6.  Chance - A young man who had mangled front teeth.  He now has a beautiful smile and self esteem, Thanks to Drs. Forstadt and Boynton.  He is studying to get his driver's licence, has his grandfather's truck he is restoring with help from Sonoma Professionals Share, he is working and thinking when he gets his licence and truck he will start his own landscaping business.  Wow.  AND, he now has a girlfriend!!!!
7.  Barbara - Sunday night Barbara came to me with her hand over her mouth and said "look"!  When she removed her hand she had a beautiful smile again.  She was almost crying as she told me how amazing it was not to be in such dental pain.  She had broken her leg, lost her job, and ended up homeless with chronic tooth pain.  She says now she can think about other things besides the pain and how ugly she was.  She is excited about getting her life together.
So, you get the idea.  The program works on many levels.  Tooth pain and infections are very dangerous, unhealthy, and so harmful to both body and soul.  This program has given these and others a step in a good direction.  They have a bit of hope, a bit of trust, and a bit of self-esteem returned.  I can't say enough good about the dentists who are participating and looking forward to other professionals to salute!!

Article in the Sonoma Index Tribune: 
https://www.sonomanews.com/article/news/local-dentists-fix-smiles-of-unhoused-residents/
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Thank you,
Annie Falandes
Homeless Action Sonoma, Inc.
[email protected]
hassonoma.org
707 304-0502