Honoring Our Veterans
For the last four years Dr. Carl Jenkins has
honored veterans in his Northumberland
County community by offering a day of free
dental care at his office in Watsontown.
Most recently, in November 2018, he treated
14 veterans, doing cleanings, fillings and a
root canal. Dr. Jenkins, who is a veteran
himself, having served as a Public Health
officer in Alaska, estimated that he and his
staff have been able to do about $7,000-
$8,000 of free care during each of these
veteran care days.
“We’ve seen people from the World War II
era right through to present day veterans,”
Dr. Jenkins said. “It’s always been a very
rewarding day. People have been good.
People have been very kind.”
The program originated after Dr. Jenkins
had a discussion with a friend who is a
retired Colonel in the Marine Corps. He had
a boyhood friend, also a veteran, who had
severe dental disease.
“I decided that providing a free day of
dental care in my office on, or near Veterans
Day, would be a great way to give back,” he
said. “It has been rewarding each and every
time we have had one of these days.”
Dr. Jenkins said that the event, which
usually takes place on the Friday closest to
Veterans Day, has resulted in some long-
term cases, including one where he was
able to help a patient who had been
removed from the Coast Guard due to
extremely poor dental health.
“Over a period of many months we
restored him and he has now applied for
reinstatement with the Coast Guard,”
Dr. Jenkins said. “For another patient we
restored him to a point of health so that he
could have his hip replaced. This had been
delayed due to the presence of dental
infection.”
The first-come, first-serve appointments
always fill up quickly.
“I advertise this service on local radio
stations for a week prior to the event,”
Dr. Jenkins said. “We open the phones at
7 a.m. and fill our day within a short time.”
I decided that providing a free day
of dental care in my office on,
or near Veterans Day, would be a
great way to give back. ”
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