Just weeks after reaching out to 13 Action News, a North Las Vegas pastor is close to getting his smile back.
"Within four months I am going to have a beautiful smile," Phil Allen said.
That's something Allen didn't think was possible just over a month ago when he reached out to 13 Action News for help.
Allen lost $10,000 when Half Dental closed down its office with the pastor’s implant procedure not completed.
"I didn't know where else to turn. I didn't know what I was going to do," Allen said.
The day after our story aired, employees at Sahara Dental’s office on West Tropicana Avenue reached out offering to help Allen.
"They brought it up and said let's see if we can help this guy," Greg Welch said.
After a few consultations, Allen was in the chair beginning the process of restoring his smile.
Sahara Dental is donating its time and got other companies to donate supplies. That reduced what Allen expected to be a $30,000 procedure to around $9,000.
"Even to get it down to this point is amazing," Allen said.
The pastor is now preparing for his implants, planning to return to the pulpit with added confidence.
He even knows what he wants for his first solid meal in more than two years.
"I'm going to have the biggest steak you can possibly have with a nice big potato," Allen said.
Allen said he is planning to repay all the generosity shown to him through the process.
He also is working to raise the money to make sure Sahara Dental gets the $9,000 to cover the cost of the services that weren’t donated.
He is planning to hold fundraisers and still has his GoFundMe accountup to raise that money.
