By Sahar Chmais
Sally Moser’s smile begets her before she speaks; maybe it is because she is a dentist, but the more likely reason is that she has a kind demeanor. Her kindness can be observed through the job she does to give back to the community she works and lives in.
Moser moved from Peru to California 16 years ago. Then in early 2016, she decided it was time to leave California and find her home in Hays County. It took a couple of years, but Moser finally opened up her own dental practice; something she can put her name on.
Through her dental practice in Buda, Moser developed friendships with her clients as well as her employees.
“A lot of times people have told me I’m someone you can go have a beer with,” Moser said, an uncommon phrase uttered to dentists. “I am very warm with my clients, we always hug, but not right now,” Moser laughed.
Although her dentistry work is not the direct line of charity, Moser has used it to give back in her community. For example, Moser noticed how family-oriented her community is, so she decided to sponsor kids on athletic teams who need it.
School support is where Moser likes to direct most of her efforts; her practice has printed up magnetic calendars and donated them to Dahlstrom Middle School, gave carpool tags to parents at Elm Grove Elementary School, sponsored Jaguar jogs and more.
This method has definitely benefited Moser in advertising her practice. But she believes donating and giving back to the community helps both sides, instead of paying money for advertising without helping the locale.
Besides donating calendars and sponsoring children, Moser also gives outside of her dentistry. One of Moser’s patients attended Buda’s Brightside, a non-profit organization that helps adults with developmental disabilities. Through that relationship, Moser decided to volunteer at this day-habilitation where she became the president of the board.
Within her practice, Moser has also helped out her patients after the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“A lot of people lost their jobs,” Moser said. “We needed to be more sensitive. I sent an email to my patients, ‘don’t hesitate to tell me you’re having problems, we will figure out.’”
During these financially stunting times, Moser does not want her patient’s oral health to decline, so she decided to give discounts, in some cases free dental work, to her established patients who had no options.
“We are very sensitive about patients,” Moser simply stated, “we don’t want them to be in pain.”
It is not only Moser’s patients that feel close to her; when she was leaving the practice she worked in before, some of her coworkers decided they would rather follow her. At first, Moser could not afford all the help she needed and started her practice as a trio, but her work has grown and so did her employees.
The reason Moser is so welcoming and open to people around her goes back to her Peruvian roots. In her home country, people are very warm, Moser said. Her Catholic faith also contributes to her charitable character. From her faith, she learned that when a person is giving, they will also receive.
Just as Moser found so much of herself from her home roots, she has also found another part of herself in Hays County. In Lima, life was busy. But in Driftwood, where she now resides, she feels like she has found a perfect balance.
Homes are separate enough to feel seclusion, but close enough to always have a neighbor to hang out or chat with. That homey feeling is also established in Buda, where she feels close to her patients and community.
“I don’t plan to leave,” Moser told the Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch. “I plan to retire here. I am growing patients for life. I am sure people will move and leave, but I am going to be here in Buda.”
