The Veterans Administration provides limited dental services to our Veterans and provides them primarily at retail costs. Most VA care is focused on single issue treatment. Veterans suffering from illness and financial hardship often have issued that cannot be cared for through the VA programs or they do not qualify. Currently only 8% of Veterans qualify for VA dental care. The 92% fall through the gap and are the target population of Smiles for Veterans
Our waiting list has risen to over 100 and our funding sources have deteriorated. Our current goal is to raise enough money to clear the waiting list, as some of our Veterans have been waiting quite a while.
We have assembled a network of dentist, hygienists and laboratories that work with us on a no-cost to very low-cost basis. They are all generous to a fault but funding has been halted with so much unemployment and illness. We need to provide our Veterans with appropriate dental care so that they can be competitive in the workplace, eat a proper diet, improve their overall health and retain their dignity.
