Dr. Jose Torres

Dr. Torres, a 2007 graduate of Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, is fluent in Spanish and is practicing in the community in which he grew up, so he has developed a trust among his patients at San Joaquin Valley/Earlimart Health Center.

Dr. Torres is grew up speaking Spanish to his farm worker parents and was faced with a low socioeconomic background. “My earliest memory of the hardships of being from a migrant fieldworker family was waking up in orange orchards with a small fire nearby as my parents worked at picking oranges from the nearby trees,” recalls Dr. Torres. “During the summers and weekends, my siblings and I worked alongside our parents in the fields – they wanted us to realize that working in the fields was a difficult way of life. I was the first person in my immediate family to attend college and graduate.”

Dr. Torres heard about and encouraged to apply for the Student Loan Repayment Grant from Dr. Mao Her-Flores, the first recipient of the grant. “Dr. Her knew my desire was similar to hers – to practice in the community I was so familiar with. I heard about the position at United Health Centers and applied. They explained that because of the location, it is difficult for them to keep dentists longer than two months. Because of the grant, I am able to stay here for a long time, giving the patients a stability in care that had been lacking. It allows me to focus on providing quality dental care.”

Dr. Torres, who graduated from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in 2007, is grateful for the CDA Foundation. “It is very admirable thing to do, to provide this kind of grant that increases access to care. I’m glad there are people out there who care enough to give to a program like this.”