Success Stories: Jose

Jose is five years old and lives in Half Moon Bay. At a Sonrisas dental screening at a local Head Start program, we discovered that he had severe dental decay in every tooth. Both his parents work fulltime at jobs where every penny counts. It had been very difficult for them to get time off to take him to the dentist.

The extremity of his disease required a dental team including an anesthesiologist so work could be done under oral sedation.  Unfortunately, children like Jose have frequent colds because of the level of infection in their mouths so cases like his often have to be rescheduled at the last minute because the child is not well.

In Jose’s case, Sonrisas volunteers were able to complete all of the work needed during the four-hour sedation, while his parents learned how to care for his oral health. Jose’s teeth were checked post-treatment at one month and three month intervals to make sure that his dental health was being maintained. We’re happy to say he and his family are now committed to having healthy smiles.