Florida Veteran Health Heroes

Page 7 OUR HEROES Charles d. lLano, dds Dr. Charles D. Llano, DDS, has a passion for serving others as a health care professional. In 1974, he earned a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Tennessee Dental College in Memphis. He also served as an officer in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, achieving the rank of Captain (06) in the Dental Ready Reserve Branch. In 1976, Dr. Llano moved to Florida and established his dental practice. He has served the dental profession and the community at large with distinction for the past 41 years. He serves on the attending staff of the Lakeland Regional Medical Center and helps children and young adults with facial deformities through his participation with the Central Florida Cleft Palate Team. Dr. Llano is a Fellow of both the American College of Dentists and the Academy of General Dentistry, and has achieved Master status in the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology College of Sedation in Dentistry. He is a past president of the Florida Dental Society of Anesthesiology, the Polk County Dental Association and the West Coast District Dental Association. He also has served as a consultant and examiner to the Florida Board of Dentistry. In June of this year, Dr. Llano was honored with a special recognition award from the Florida Dental Association for his many years of distinguished service to the dental profession and to community. As a testament to his passion for serving those in need, Dr. Llano recently participated in an all-volunteer effort to airlift food, water and other necessities to the Florida Keys in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Dr. Llano, a licensed pilot with his own single-engine aircraft, and other pilots from across the country volunteered with AERObridge, a nonprofit organization that coordinates relief flights to disaster- ravaged areas.