I m p ressio n s
The Charitable Dentist…
the things we do.
by Dr. Stephen T. Radack III, Editor
The annual Erie Gives event was held last
week here and it made me start thinking
more about how many ways dentists
and dentistry give back. Erie Gives is a
one-day event where you can give to your favorite charities and
the amount will be matched on a prorated basis by a donation
of $300,000. The event has been going on since 2011 and gets
bigger every year. This year raised a total of $4.4 million that was
given by almost 8,000 people. I was one of those. I decided to
wait for this special event to give the bulk of my charitable giving
since my donation would be matched and increase the amount
of my gift.
Dentists and our entire profession give back to our patients all
year long. Almost every morning when I read my ADA Huddle
email update there is a story of another MOM that was held
from around the country, a dentist who opened their office for
veterans or anyone for a free day of dental services, a local free
clinic staffed by volunteers or maybe a colleague who went to
a foreign country to do a dental mission.
Missions of Mercy (MOM) seem to be happening almost every
week around the country these days. Most member dentists
who are reading this publication have volunteered for all or one
of the MOM-n-PA (Mission of Mercy in PA) events that have
been held every year since 2013 across Pennsylvania. The large
scale dental clinics set up in an area have treated up to 1,000
patients per day over the two-day missions, utilizing over
1,000 volunteers who come together to treat the patients.
I have had the opportunity to be a part of four of the MOMs
and was one of the community co-chairs in 2017 when MOM
came to Erie. There is truly nothing like being a part of a MOM.
(http://www.mom-n-pa.com)
The Donated Dental Services (DDS) program is another way
that dentists can give back and never leave the office. When
you volunteer to be part of the Dental Lifeline Network you
get the opportunity to treat a patient right in your office. Most
patients are local and are folks that have fallen through the
safety net and are in need of dental care. I have had the chance
to treat three DDS patient over the last few years. The services
ranged from cleanings, simple restorations, crowns and partial
and full dentures. The program has labs across PA that will
also do the lab work for no fee. I can tell you that these patients
are some of most appreciative and thankful patients you would
ever treat. (https://dentallifeline.org)
As I noted above, it seems more and more of our colleagues are
doing their own mini-MOMs or dental days in their practices.
They open their doors to maybe veterans, or anyone who needs
care but has not been able to receive it for whatever reason.
One of my classmates from Pitt and a member of the Erie
County Dental Association has one in her office every year.
Dr. Dina Nuhfer has been doing her “Dentistry from the Heart”
day for the last four years, and with Drs. John Alonge, Bart
Neckers, Nathan Rieck and their dental teams, treated 44
patients this year, providing 144 services worth over $10,000.
(http://www.dentistryfromtheheart.org)
These three examples of dentists giving back are the most well
known and well publicized, but there are so many more that
happen across the commonwealth and the country every
single day that no one ever hears about. Every day one of us
gives something away to patients who simply can’t afford it, or
provides a significant professional courtesy or no fee at all.
Every day there are dentists who provide a dental service
because it is better for the patient than what the dental benefits
companies will cover and we don’t charge a penny extra. Every
day there are dental sealants that are placed on children’s newly
erupted permanent teeth that will never be paid for, but are
placed because it is such a simple way to give the tooth a head
start on being caries free. And every day we give away
thousands of dollars’ worth of toothbrushes, toothpaste and
dental floss to our patients to make sure they have a fresh start
when they walk out of the office. How much is all of our
everyday “giving” really worth? Who really knows?
I am sure there are many more examples of dentistry giving
back every single day. I have found that dentists and dentistry
are, by nature, very giving and always the first to say yes when
asked. I wish more of the public focus could be on what we do
and who we do it for rather than what we don’t do. Let us know
what you do!
— STR3
SEP TEM BER/OC TOBER 2018 | P EN N SYLVAN IA DEN TAL JOURNAL
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