Just as millions of working class people without dental insurance struggle to keep a full set of teeth, veterans wish they could keep their oral health squared away enough to pass inspection.
During the whole of last year, a mobile dental office took on that battle for thousands of veterans–and scored a victory.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides most varieties of health care to vets, but dental care is only afforded to the disabled.
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Because of that, many former service members live with a poor oral appearance that, in some cases, keeps them from finding a good job that would offer dental insurance to help fix it.
That’s where the “Mouth Mobile”–and its thousands of volunteer dentists and technicians–comes in. It’s a fully-functional, 42-foot rolling dental care van complete with a lab for making dentures, it’s own X-ray equipment, and two fully functioning exam and treatment rooms.
The project has provided $2.8 million in free dental care for roughly 4,000 veterans in 2015.
Aspen Dental, one of the largest dental care chains in the U.S. has been providing free care with the van since early 2014 as part of it’s “Healthy Mouth Movement.” In its second year, they chose to focus on veterans.
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Partnering with nonprofit “Got Your 6” (which is military-speak for “watching your back”), Mouth Mobile travelled around America, bringing their dental office directly to retired service members in need.
“It’s important we take care of the most urgent pain they are in and make sure we take care of all their needs in a limited amount of time,” Dr. Nicholas Miller, an Aspen Dental dentist told WLNS News.
(WATCH the WLNS News video below or READ more at Huff Post) — Photo: Aspen Dental
It is a very generous gesture by all these dentists to provide free dental care to our veterans. However, it is quite sad that those who risk their lives for the country do not even qualify for dental care, which is essential to maintain a good health. http://mybrooklynheightsdentist.com/