When Sanaah Pande was in 8th grade, she interviewed a 100-year-old veteran named Rafael Garcia. He told her that, while serving in the Navy, he was out at sea on the Pacific and suffering from the worst kind of tooth pain. But since there was no access to dental care on the ship, nothing could be done for months.
Garcia’s story stuck with Pande long after he shared it with her.
A couple of years later, Pande got an internship at Milpitas Smile Design. While interning there, she thought back to her conversation with Garcia, who had since passed away…