El Dorado Hills resident Dr. John Bertsch thought he had it all – a successful cosmetic dentistry practice, a nice house, a car and the perfect family.

Then the pendulum of life swung and a divorce changed everything, leaving Bertsch with more questions than answers. “I had to go back and reevaluate my life and life choices,” he explains. He began pursuing alternative healing methods and shifted his focus outward to helping the community.  

Bertsch now volunteers for Be Change (givingcompany.com), an organization that helps provide for and teach important life skills to underprivileged children in the Sacramento area. He provides free dental care to inner city children, many of whom have never visited a dentist before. In addition, he recently moved his practice, Giving Smiles, to Fair Oaks Boulevard in Sacramento as a means to be nearer to the children he can help most, without sacrificing his high-end cosmetic dentistry practice. In May, Bertsch and Be Change Founder, Jason Harper, will travel across the country, filming Run It Forward, a documentary series about their efforts to aid children in the poorest regions of America. “I had what I thought was an amazing life,” Bertsch says. “Then I realized I could actually heal people. Giving a true, deep smile to someone…now that’s happiness.”

For more about Dr. John Bertsch and other local happenings and information, be sure to pick up this month's copy of Style – Folsom, El Dorado Hills edition. Click on the Get Your Copy link on this Web site for some of our newsstand locations; click on the Subscribe link on this Web site to become a regular subscriber, or to order a copy of this issue or one of our back issues, please email  [email protected], or call 916-988-9888.