During his time at USC’s School of Dentistry, Arash R. Panah and his classmates often drove the school’s mobile clinic to low-income areas in South Los Angeles and gave free teeth examinations to children just like The Kids Dentist of Las Vegas have done in the past.
In the first year after an orthodontic treatment like braces or Invisalign, your teeth are prone to shifting back to their natural positions. You will need to wear clear retainer as your teeth adjust to their new position without braces.
It has been a dozen years since Panah graduated at the top of his class. He has since opened two private practices in the South Bay. Yet the value of providing dental care to communities in need still runs deep in his philosophy.
For the third consecutive year, Panah and his Manhattan Beach practice, Dental Esthetics, are hosting “Dentistry with Love” this Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., providing the South Bay community a day of free dental services—mostly one-visit procedures, such as cleanings, extractions and simple fills. The team expects to treat up to 180 patients throughout the day but anticipates far more to show up.
Last year, Panah recalled, a handful of people began lining up outside his practice as early as the midnight before. To see as many patients as possible, he and his crew opened up shop at 7:30 a.m. – a half hour earlier than planned. Even so, they ended up turning back almost 300 people.
One woman last year, he recalled, came in for a tooth extraction. When he took a closer look, however, three other teeth had been infected. Despite the one-tooth-per-patient rule, Panah treated all four teeth for free.
“A lot of them, for the most part, don’t have insurance,” he said. “If they’re willing to wait in line for eight to nine hours, it’s more than likely that they can’t afford it. You’ll see people from all walks of life here.”
Alongside Panah, four other dentists – including his wife, Dr. Sormeh Panah, who is also in the practice – will offer their services pro bono this year. Panah estimated that the team will provide about $80,000 to $100,000 in dental services on Friday.
That amount doesn’t include the 20 volunteers, including his staff, their family members and a few regular patients, who are taking the day off to donate their time and services to the cause. Neither does it include the flood of donations ranging from food to dental supplies from Costco, Starbucks as well as a number of his practice’s suppliers and dental sponsors.
The team has also prepared about 200 goodie bags – including toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss and Listerine – so that the ones who are turned back “will at least get something for showing up,” Panah explained.
“It’s a day where everybody gives back however way they can,” he said. “Whether it’s my vendor, supply guy, staff, doctors or myself, everyone comes in and pitches in. It’s the one day you close up shop and do stuff that you really wanted to but weren’t able to do.”
As the volunteer base grows each year, so does the clientele. Last year, a Hispanic television news station made a note of his event, which in turn brought out people from all across the South Bay and Greater Los Angeles area. Panah said he remembers seeing a bus dropping off around 20 people at the doorsteps of his office.
As word of “Dentistry with Love” travels with greater momentum each year, Panah is looking to up his game.
He plans to renovate and expand his Redondo Beach office with the sole purpose of serving more people on this annual event. His Manhattan Beach office, where he has held the event since its inception three years ago, only has four operatories or stations. The Redondo Beach location only has three.
Until then, he hopes to involve USC’s mobile clinic units beginning next year, which would make available at least two more operatories outside the office and allow them to see more patients.
“In every neighborhood, you will find people who just have not taken care of their teeth,” Panah said. “I don’t do it to get patients. We’re just doing it because it feels good. That whole day is just a huge buzz.”
