Ronaldo Fritz, DDS
Dr. Ronald Fritz was born in California, grew up there and was educated there. After attending Glendale Adventist Academy near Los Angeles, he received a BA in biology and chemistry from La Sierra University in 1967. He went directly to Loma Linda University to study dentistry and public health. While a student, what impacted him most was a four week stay to provide dental care at Monument Valley, Utah, for Navajo Nation patients, during his senior year. He signed up as a deferred mission appointee, agreeing to work in an international setting. After the appointment in Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, did not work out, he was switched to Bella Vista Hospital in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Two months after receiving his DDS and MPH degrees in 1972, he found himself in the beautiful Caribbean, trying to learn Spanish and provide general dentistry where the only specialist in town was an orthodontist. For the six years practicing for the hospital and policlinic, he had a mission project of a monthly trip two hours into the coffee growing mountains to help a hospital dental clinic in Castañer which had two chairs and no dentist. This personal mission project endeared him to the Puerto Rican people, and he developed “La Mancha del Plátano,” or the stain of the banana, meaning the Latin culture indelibly imprinted on his heart. In this process, his life was changed.
After moving back to southern California, the Latin influence and mission spirit never died. Dr. Fritz has continuously helped on dental mission projects since, preferring the Latin people and places to help, knowing the culture and the language. He had his private practice in Escondido, California, and taught part time at Loma Linda University,
influencing students to get involved in mission projects. Today he is retired from private profit practice and living between Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, and Escondido, California, with his wife, Vicky Cruz. His time is spent full time for dental mission projects, including ICD, ADI, Flying Doctors, and Loma Linda University.
Dr. Fritz is an Emeritus Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry, a Fellow of ICD, ACD, ADI, and Pierre Fauchard Academy. In addition to being a Fellow of the Academy of Dentistry International, he was Vice President for Education of ADI, and USA Section Chair. Because of his Passion for Missions, he believes he will continue volunteering until his vision or his fingers start to fail.