Denah

One of my favorite people in the whole world is Dena Lambert. She assisted me for many years and
watched me ride off into the sunset about 5 years ago. I have fond memories of her helping me through
the good and the bad of everyday practice!

Dena, meet Denah. She is 18 years old and belongs to the Cham Muslim community we are in at
present. She came to me with her good friend in tow earlier this week and wanted me to take out her
two top front teeth. Ouch! She is very pretty and as I have said many times before, it breaks my heart
to do this to a young lady. I asked her if she had plans to replace them and she said no. Her family did
not have the money to afford the replacement bridge. I decided to remove the teeth and make her a
removable flipper and she really liked it. She could speak only a few words of English but she, like many
others before her, said, “Thanks You”!

When I first saw her on the river bank, she always had her hand over her mouth to cover up the ugly
front teeth. Now she beams with pride in her new smile. Some days really are fun. rick