SANTA CRUZ - It's hard to imagine 20 years ago Dientes Community Dental didn't exist.
Today, it's bustling with patients.
"We've really done a tremendous amount of growth over the last 20 years," said Laura Marcus, executive director.
And it's all thanks to a small group of dentists and community leaders who saw just how great the need was in Santa Cruz county and surrounding areas.
"There really wasn't a place for low income people to go that was affordable to get the care they needed," Marcus said.
She said there are now 7,000 patients who come in every year, which is about 20,000 visits.
Patients like Lynne Quiaguiz, who is low income and retired, can come in and not have to worry about how they will pay for their dental care.
That's because Dientes is a non-profit organization driven by serving people of all incomes.
"Oh, my gosh," Quiaguiz said. "It's helped me a lot. Things that would cost me like 500 or $1,000 I'd pay 300, or $200 dollars. I can get my teeth done, otherwise I couldn't get my teeth done."
Michael Egense lost his job, got cancer, and his teeth were crumbling.
He said Dientes helped give him another chance.
"They've been such a wonderful help in replacing my teeth and sending me where I need to go, because I didn't know what to do," he said.
But with such a great need that continues to grow, Dientes said it needs your help.
"It's really difficult for people and there's been large cuts over the years," Marcus said. "We rely heavily on contributions and grants."
If you want to donate to Dientes, you can visit: www.dientes.org.
The non-profit will be celebrating its 20 years of providing dental care at 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 18 at the Chaminade Resort in Santa Cruz.
You can purchase tickets on its website, or call 831-464-5421 for more information.
Since 2002, Dientes has provided more than 165,000 dental visits to needy residents in the community, completing more than $61 million in treatment.
