Beulaville Dentist Brings Closure To Families Who Lost Loved Ones In Attacks

When you drive past the first of Beulaville's three stop lights, you'll see the office of Dr. David Moretz. He is the only dentist in the small town of 1,000.

"I'm just a guy doing a job," he said.

But last month, his job took him someplace he never wants to go again. He went to New York City to identify the victims of the terrorist attacks.

"It was difficult to sleep. I was on edge, excited and nervous," he said.

It did not take long for Dr. Moretz to receive the call to help. Just a few hours after the Sept. 11 attacks, he and other forensic dentists, anthropologists and pathologists were told to be on standby.

"[I was] anxious to get up there and do what I could to help with the remains, so that families could have closure," he said.

It was a painstaking process. Dr. Moretz and the Disaster Morturary Operational Response Team worked 12 hours for 14 days straight trying to match dental records with human remains.

Tooth by tooth and body after body, Moretz and his fellow colleagues worked to give tearful families the answers they waited for -- that their loved one had been positively matched.

"It gave us a great feeling that, 'Yes, we have done something,'" he said.

Thousands of families' lives were changed forever Sept. 11, including Moretz.

"It made me appreciate my loved ones more. I think it's helped me to love my country more," he said.

By the time Moretz left New York City on Oct. 4, he said he was able to help make 83 positive dental matches from 300 bodies.