CDA Foundation

Catherine’s dental phobia was once so severe that dental advertisements or even passing a dental office could trigger a panic attack. Worse, her debilitating phobia kept her from seeing a dentist for over 10 years. Eventually, she developed a life-threatening oral infection and lived with it for over a year and a half. “I was in pain, but I was too scared to receive care,” said Catherine, a resident of Bakersfield, Calif.

In 2010, Vanessa Franks, DDS, became the 11th recipient of the CDA Foundation’s Student Loan Repayment Grant — a flagship program that aims to offset some of the financial burden of student loan debt in exchange for a three-year commitment by recipients to care for the underserved. Describing herself as “a natural caretaker with a strong inherent motivation to enrich the lives of others,” Dr. Franks said a career in public health had been a longtime goal.

Five months after the catastrophic Camp and Woolsey wildfires tore through more than 250,000 acres in Northern and Southern California, life and work are far from routine for dentists who lost their practices or homes — or both — in the fires. But many are beginning to find some semblance of daily structure and make long-term plans with the help of their colleagues and the dental community.