“You serve us, we serve you” was how staff at White Crown Dental in Santa Clarita welcomed veterans for a day of free dental treatment Thursday.
About 10 local veterans stopped by the dental office, located at 26324 Bouquet Canyon Rd., for deep cleaning, fillings and X-rays.
While most services offered Thursday involved essential work, Dr. Henry Sobol said he is open to arranging monthly care with veterans with comprehensive cases.
“I was never in the military,” said Dr. Henry Sobol. “I chose the medical route, but this is my way of giving back.”
Open for business about nine months ago, the dental office is working hard to become a part of the community by “giving back instead of taking from it,” office manager Heather MacIsaac said.
“It’s really important that we all take part into giving to the community and not just only taking as a business,” she said. “To me, that speaks volumes for any business because anyone can just open doors.”
And it’s paying off. Veteran Fernando Silva, 79, arrived for deep cleaning and said he was pleased with the medical staff in extending their professional courtesy to veterans in the Santa Clarita Valley.
“They did an outstanding service to all the guys here,” he said. “If they can have this at least once a year, it could really benefit us all.”
Silva left with not only dental care but even a new leather wallet, handmade by MacIsaac.
“He carried, basically, all his belongings in a worn-out wallet with duct tape,” the office manager said. “So, I made him a new one. We’re all here to help in any way we can.”
Besides free dental treatment — and a brand new wallet — patients received care packages that included toothbrushes and teeth-whitening kits.
White Crown Dental already offer a 20-percent off discount to veterans but plans to continue free services at least once a year. Dr. Sobol revealed that a pet-and-patient dental day might be in the works, where dog owners can receive treatment while their dogs receive their dental care outside by a patient he knows that specializes in pet care.
“We’re more than fill and bill,” said MacIsaac. “This is more than dentistry; this is life.”