SAN ANTONIO – By daybreak, patients were lined up for the annual Labor of Love event held on Labor Day by Risas Dental & Braces at its two West Side locations.
“That speaks volumes right there,” said Dr. David Ryan, who manages the local clinics near Woodlawn Lake and on Culebra Road.
“There’s a huge need in our backyard,” Ryan said.
By the time it was over, a spokeswoman said 153 patients had been seen in four hours at both locations, receiving an estimated $500,000 in free dental care.
Ryan said rather than traveling halfway around the world, “We’re just here helping out the people that are supporting us throughout the year. We just want to make a difference by giving back.”
For Robert Almaraz, it meant getting the long overdue dental care for the on-and-off dental pain he’d been enduring for so long.
“I’ve been having a low-grade fever for the past six years. Didn’t have the funds to get myself checked out,” Almaraz said.
Ryan said bacteria from dental infections can lead to serious health problems later on, especially for those with pre-existing conditions.
“The more issues that your body is having to deal with, the harder it is on your body,” Ryan said.
Another patient named Gerald sitting in a dental chair said he learned, “It’s going throughout your body where it can lead to heart failure, strokes, anything like that, because it’s bacteria.”
Ryan said providing patients free dental care who couldn’t afford it otherwise during its Labor of Love event can help improve lives.
He said the goal is to help them get started on the right track to better health.
“That’s what we’re here for,” Ryan said.