words came back to me in a flash, and I knew
it was wise to stop in my tracks not to ask
him anything else. When I examined his
mouth, every premolar and molar was
decayed to the gumline. I told him that we
were only supposed to do “one” procedure,
but I would write on his sheet that we
should take out as many teeth as possible
for him. The day was busy and I was never
able to find out how much work we did
on him, but it made me angry that our
government is not taking care of our
veterans in a meaningful way.
I was fortunate enough to find out that
Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown,
where I direct the General Practice
Residency Program, has a military affairs
office. I contacted the director and asked
if we could do something about helping
underserved veterans on the local level.
He was excited to help and we ended
up meeting the medical director of the
local VA clinic in Allentown. The medical
director was open to the idea of helping
the veterans who could not access their
dental clinic. With this in mind, we signed
up over 20 practices in the Lehigh Valley
Dental Society that agreed to provide
comprehensive care to at least one needy
veteran screened by the VA system. Most
of the members are general dentists, but
a few oral surgeons, a periodontist and an
endodontist offered to help out as well,
especially with difficult cases. An orthodontist
and a pediatric dentist also volunteered
to take children of these veterans. The
specialists work “behind the scenes” and
their names are not given to the patient
but rather to the general dentists in case
they are needed.
Because of certain federal statutes, the VA
system is prohibited from referring their
patients directly to our members.
Therefore, we now run this program out
of the Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN)
military affairs office. With great volunteers
and coordination from LVHN, this program
is highly successful. I now want to bring it
to the entire state, but I soon found out
that this is easier said than done.
Without a statewide central office to handle
recruitment of general dentists and specialists
and identify underserved veterans, how
could we possibly coordinate our 5,000
members and untold numbers of veterans
to do this? I discussed this with our state
representative who chairs the House Veterans
Affairs Committee and he suggested that
we work with the individual legislative
offices throughout the state. This sounded
like a great plan, but it also involved
extensive manpower that would be
difficult to supply.
THEN IT HAPPENED.
On page 8 of the November 18 ADA News
there is a story titled “Dental Lifeline
Network: Will you see one vet? Dentists
asked to offer treatment beyond Veterans
Day.” Dental Lifeline Network (DLN, a part
of Donated Dental Services, or DDS) is
asking dentists around the country to
donate their time and talent to at least one
veteran as part of its “Will You See One Vet”
campaign. This is what I’ve been looking
for. Finally, there is an organization that has
the resources to coordinate the program
between dentists and veterans who cannot
otherwise access care.
DLN will screen patients to confirm
eligibility and help ensure that they
show up for appointments. They will also
coordinate lab work and specialty referrals.
My heart goes out to these veterans.
They served our country, put their lives
on the line and often come back with
wounds that we cannot see. We, on the
other hand, are fortunate to be in a
wonderful profession which affords us a
comfortable lifestyle. It is a small token on
our part to give thanks and honor to these
men and women who bravely served our
nation. I never had the opportunity to be
in the military, and after my brother’s
experience, I am grateful for that. But I’m
a strong advocate of giving back to those
who risk so much and get so little in return.
Give Vets a Smile programs are helpful, but
that is like putting a band-aid on a festering
wound. I want us to be a major part of the
healing process.
I’ve had the pleasure of treating two
eligible local veterans so far, and it has
been one of the greatest experiences of
my career. The men were a pleasure to
work on, unbelievably thankful for the
service they received and they continue
to come in for recall exams. I am
tremendously fortunate to have them
in my practice.
I encourage all of our member volunteers
to take on at least ONE veteran in your
practice and provide comprehensive care
as our way of saying “thank you” to those
who serve so well. In a way, you’ll be
silently serving our nation too.
Please sign up at WILLYOUSEEONEVET.ORG, and continue to be #PDAProud!
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