Richard Dresser, DDS, has continued to help improve patients' dental health despite retiring last year, the Owatonna People's Press reported July 17.
Dr. Dresser sold his private practice in July 2023 but began seeing patients at Let’s Smile in April to help the nonprofit provide follow-up care to patients.
Let's Smile is a Owatonna, Minn.-based nonprofit founded in 2013 that provides care to under- or uninsured patients.
The nonprofit was previously only able to provide preventive care, referring patients in need of follow-up care to other practices. Founder Holly Jorgensen told the Owatonna People's Press that these referrals could lead to financial or transportation barriers that could prevent patients from completing their follow-up treatment.
Thirty-three percent of the 1,021 patients Let’s Smile saw last year were in need of follow-up treatment, but only 24% of those patients were able to get that treatment.
Dr. Dresser, who sees patients every other Wednesday, has helped these patients complete their treatment by providing follow-up care. Of the nonprofit's 229 pediatric patients who have needed dental work this year, Dr. Dresser has completed follow-up care for 30 at the nonprofit's office.
Dr. Dresser told the Owatonna People's Press that providing these services is his way of giving back to his community, and that the nonprofit allows him to practice without the responsibility of running his own practice.