Dentaltown May 2016 - (Page 72)

DO GOOD Be a Hero, Hero Honor a Dr. Theresa Cheng connects dentists to low-income war veterans nationwide A After hearing about a local member of the U.S. armed forces who'd been injured while serving in Iraq, I decided in 2008 to donate my time to provide dental care to the family members of these injured veterans. I'd assumed that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provided care to the vets themselves. However, after I learned that most veterans aren't eligible for dental benefits, we included veterans in our outreach as well. The program's inception by Theresa Cheng, DDS Theresa Cheng, DDS, a 1985 graduate of Grad Perio of University of Washington, had a private practice limited to periodontics and implants in Issaquah, Washington, until 2013. She now advocates for dental treatment for veterans, and volunteers with the dental van for Medical Teams International. She is on the Emeritus Council of Washington Women in Need, advocating for health and education of low-income women. 72 MAY 2016 // dentaltown.com Every year, I closed the office for a day and scheduled a one-hour appointment for each low-income war veteran. These veterans often traveled great distances to have their urgent needs addressed. But I worried about their other, imminent dental problems. I knew that once they left my office, they'd have to wait for some other opportunity to address other issues, and likely would never have the chance to be fully restored. Our war veterans can have a long and difficult road back home and we can certainly contribute dental health to their lives. So I approached dentists with practices near to where these patients lived, asking the clinicians if they would consider continuing the veterans' dental treatment. Most were pleased to have an opportunity to give back-and to establish an avenue for future, paid maintenance care. Soon we'd formed a network of more than 100 dentists, specialists and labs, located mainly in Washington state. Buoyed by the positive response and the power of the Internet, I agreed to assist with requests from veterans in other states, too. The process was slow and challenging, but in February 2016 the Pierre Fauchard Academy endorsed this program, and may be of great help in connecting vets to volunteer dentists across the nation. http://www.dentaltown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown May 2016

On Dentaltown.com
HOWARD SPEAKS: Talking Monkeys, Reviews Gone Wild, and Valuable Margins
PROFESSIONAL COURTESY: A 5-Star Future?
Continuing Education Update
Industry News
Special-Needs Patients
3Shape TRIOS 3
The ABCs of Dental Ethics
Townie Meeting Recap
Is It Time to Be Conservative, or Progressive?
Balancing the Scale(r)s
A Dope Does a Startup
The Dental Laser’s Role in Managing Periodontal Disease
Do Good: A WHALE OF AN EFFORT
Do Good: HOW SMILES ON WINGS TOOK FLIGHT
Do Good: SERVING THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED
Do Good: BE A HERO, HONOR A HERO
Do Good: THIS WE’LL DEFEND
Do Good: PAYING IT FORWARD
Do Good: A BEACH IN WESTERN KENYA
Do Good: A GIANT EFFORT: HENRY SCHEIN CARES
Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?
Poll
New Products
Ad Index
You Should Know
Practice Solutions: Tokuyama Dental
Product Profi le: Planmeca
CONTINUING EDUCATION: Mill In or Send Out?
Dentally Incorrect

Dentaltown May 2016