Foundation names Somis man dentist of the year
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspaper AWARD-WINNING SMILE- Camarillo dentist Ken Anderson of Rosewood Dental was recently named the 2008 Dentist of the Year by the Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation. Anderson has traveled to numerous Third World countries to bring his medical expertise to those with severe dental problems.

Camarillo dentist Ken Anderson has braved floods, ThirdWorld living conditions and even risked his life to help others.

For nearly a decade, the Somis resident has volunteered his time and expertise to care for the dental needs of people who would likely never have seen a dentist before.

Recently, the Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation named Anderson dentist of the year for his altruistic efforts.

"He's one of the most exceptional people I think I have ever met," said Victoria Chandler, executive director of the foundation, a 50year old organization that works to improve health care services and provide better access to medical care.

Swollen rivers and machine guns

Anderson, a Midwest native, began his dental practice in Camarillo in 1964 after serving in the Army.

In 1999, he met Doug Partello, a local respiratory therapist, who organized weeklong medical missions to Nicaragua and elsewhere. When Partello asked Anderson to join the group, Anderson didn't give it a second thought and hasn't looked back since.

"It couldn't have gone to a better person than Ken," Partello said of the award.

For the last nine years, Anderson has traveled about twice a year with the group of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals to set up clinics in isolated villages of Nicaragua, Malawi and other countries.

The group not only donates their time and skills but pays their own way, at a cost of about $1,500 per trip. Anderson has even donated equipment, dental instruments and supplies for the missions.

Anderson has been on some 10 missions to Nicaragua, a country devastated by war and revolutions. Although his life hasn't been in immediate danger yet, it's come close.

In 2004, masked gunmen carrying rifles and machine guns kidnapped Partello and other members of the group after encountering them driving into town to buy supplies.

The Nicaraguan men, who had been looking to hijack drug shipments headed north, herded the group of foreigners and locals to an isolated area, held them for several hours and then released them unharmed. An armed police officer guarded the makeshift clinic for the rest of their stay.

On another trip to Nicaragua, the group was stranded when a nearby river swelled past its banks and submerged a bridge, the only way out. The locals paddled the stranded group across the river one by one in dugout canoes. The natives cut coconuts out of the trees, cracked them open and served Anderson and the rest of the group while they waited their turn.

Anderson hasn't allowed dangerous experiences or the amount of work he faces on the missions deter him. He keeps going back year after year, because it's a worthwhile cause.

"It's such a good feeling," Anderson said. "I do it because I want to."

He sees 25 to 30 patients a day during the weeklong missions, performing root canals, extractions, treating painful abscesses and filling cavities. The need is so great that he must limit each patient to no more than two procedures. Even then he doesn't get to everyone.

"What you do is so little- it's just a drop in the bucket," Anderson said. "You do what you can … If there are a lot of people doing what they can, it's going to make life better for a lot of people."

Partello said Anderson is a humble and kind man who downplays his contribution.

"Dentists are hard to get … but Ken has been our stalwart- he's the guy that keeps coming back," Partello said.

Helping closer to home

Anderson also donates his time to help people closer to home. Several times a month, he volunteers at the Salvation Army dental clinic in Oxnard. His patients are families without dental insurance, those who can't afford a dental visit and the homeless.

Helping men and women feel better about themselves because they can now flash a healthy and beautiful smile is "very, very satisfying for us dentists," Anderson said. "You can't navigate our society with bad teeth."

Last week, a patient at the Salvation Army clinic surprised Anderson with a gift.

The man is a Chumash Indian who gave Anderson a tomahawk he'd made.

Ken Anderson and his wife, Jan, live in Somis and have three daughters and seven grandchildren.