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The 5-year-old boy came clutching a teddy bear.
His teeth were decayed, and he was visibly thin because the infections festering in his mouth made it hurt too much to eat. He barely looked up as he walked into the clinic where the dentists awaited.
"We actually had to coax him in there," Dr. Richard Garza recalled. "But each day you could see the physical improvement. By the third day, when it was his turn, he just flipped the stuffed animal to his mother and told her he'd be back in a little while."
Chris is just one of many success stories for Christina's Smile, the traveling dental clinic for underprivileged youngsters operated in cooperation with the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour.
Garza and his volunteer staff helped Chris during a stop in Winston-Salem, N.C., several years ago during the Vantage Championship. Many more children like Chris are getting free dental care this week as Christina's Smile stops at the 100th Western Open.
"Chris started feeling better right away," his parents wrote in a letter to Garza. "The best thing is Chris is now able to eat any and all foods that are prepared for him. With these new teeth, Chris is really going to feel so much better about himself. This has really brought Chris out. He is speaking up now."
The parents wrote that Chris would be able to attend school more regularly now that the pain and fever from the infections had subsided. "This has meant (so) much for Chris. For him, it's his dream come true."
A trip to the dentist hardly seems like a dream come true for any child -- or most adults, for that matter. But for families who must choose between paying the rent or having dental work done, Christina's Smile offers a valuable service.
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| Christina's Smile helps underprivileged youngsters with dental care. (Provided to PGATOUR.COM) |
Garza saw the need first-hand during 17 years of running his own practice in Austin, Texas. He wanted to develop a program that would impact more children and named it after his daughter, who died at birth 25 years ago.
"It was one of those things that was not done as a memorial but it sure did help drive the passion during those lean, lean years," he said.
The lean years didn't last long, though.
Christina's Smile began in 1989 with just two clinics, but this year, 20 will be held in conjunction with PGA TOUR and Champions Tour events. Each lasts for three days, and 120 children from the ages of 6 to 16 receive treatment ranging from root canals to stainless steel crowns to simple cleanings.
"I am actually pleasantly surprised at the amount of dentistry we are delivering each year now," Garza said. "I am also sometimes surprised at how large the need is. One of the things happening now is that the need is getting greater but the access is shrinking."
Christina's Smile got wheels -- literally -- in 1992 when a 48-foot tractor trailer rig was outfitted as a dental clinic. A second mobile clinic was added six years later. Roadway Express transports the clinic from site-to-site and does extensive fund-raising on the grassroots level.
Garza and his staff of two work with local churches, schools, charities, social service agencies and others "who share our passion for helping the kids." He then finds dentists in the area who are willing to donate their services.
"Sometimes the kids will give the dentist a hug when they're done," Garza said. "We never have to ask him back -- he's always calling us asking when he can help again."
Garza remembers one young boy in Tampa who came to Christina's Smile with extremely dark stains on his teeth caused by drinking too much well water. The stains were bleached and in some spots, physically removed and filled.
"He was 15 years old, a nice-looking kid but very shy," Garza remembered. "He left with a big grin on his face. He told the woman who drove him there in Spanish, 'At least the other kids won't laugh at me anymore.'"
Members of the Champions Tour Wives Association -- whom Garza calls "the angels" -- often help out at the clinics. On Tuesday, July 8, the wives will also make a contribution of $30,000 -- one of many the organization has given to Christina's Smile over the years.
Their husbands help, too. PGA TOUR standout Brad Faxon serves on the Christina's Smile advisory board along with Champions Tour mainstays Jim Albus, Jim Colbert, Jim Dent, Dale Douglass, Bruce Fleisher, Al Geiberger, Bob Gilder, Tom Jenkins, Bob Murphy, Chi Chi Rodriguez and Dave Stockton.
"My wife and I are big supporters of any cause that benefits children," Faxon said. "Dr. Garza has done a lot of good for kids who cannot afford dental care, and that's a great thing. I look forward to supporting Dr. Garza and Christina's Smile, and all he does for young people."
Stockton agreed. "I really believe in Christina's Smile and their mission. This is the greatest thing I have seen since I have been in golf."
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