By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Dr. Alexis Klassen and her dental team put smiles on the faces of veterans and active duty service personnel Wednesday by offering free services.
And in one case that smile got a makeover.
Klassen, of Alexis Klassen and Associates, was a continuation of the Make a Veteran Smile event held in Sandusky where she was practicing. This summer she purchased the practice of Dr. Todd Stoner and initiated the 1% Salute.
For one patient that involved getting four new crowns on his top teeth and having his bottom teeth reshaped and refiled. “We were all crying when he got up off the chair,” Dr. Klassen said.
She estimated 15 people availed themselves of the free services.
That included another patient who received a cleaning and eight new fillings.
Another patient had broken a tooth a year ago. The Navy Reservist had lost his regular job, and insurance, and then the coronavirus pandemic set in, restricting for a time dental services. It also meant children now needed to be homeschooled.
“You know life gets in the way,” Klassen said. “So, you put yourself on the backburner.”
But Wednesday, she could tell him, “today is your day.”
The service was free, and the office personnel could work around his schedule.
“We wanted to do our part to show our appreciation,” said her husband, Brent Klassen. The couple are Falcon Flames, having met back at Bowling Green State University .
Klassen is herself a veteran and reservist. After dental school she practiced for five years in the Navy and for the last 12 years has been in the Naval Reserve. According to a post on the practice’s Facebook page: “She has been stationed at Parris Island in South Carolina, with the Sea Bees in Gulfport, MS, deployed to Okinawa, Japan and at the Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois. She is now … attached to the Navy Operational Support Center in Toledo.”
Many of those treated were reservists. With launching the new practice, this year’s 1% Salute – so named because that’s the percentage of the nation’s population that has served or is serving in the military – got a bit of a late start.
Many of the patients were, the dentist said, “people who knew people who knew I was doing this.”
Some were regular patients of the practice, who the office reached out to and let them know of the free services. “We had a very full schedule.”
Kaden Pelger, of Toledo, knew Klassen from the Navy Reserves, though not as a dentist. But he’d lost his dental insurance recently, so she suggested he come in for treatment on Veteran’s Day.
“This is great,” he said, “not a lot of people in this country have insurance. It’s hard to get.”
While many reservists have TRICARE Insurance, that involves signing up for separate dental care package. Some reservists miss that and don’t realize it until they show up for a broken tooth.
Also, few practitioners are reimbursed by the insurance, she said. “That’s a little bit of a problem.”
The event in Bowling Green was different than what was offered in Sandusky.
There is was first-come, first-serve with lines of patients. They would only get one service. This year, Klassen said, “we could really do some comprehensive care. We could devote more chair time and do a lot more for them.”
In the past at Sandusky, there was also a buffet and a chance for patients to socialize. This year COVID-19 protocols limited how many people could be in the waiting room.
They did come away with special Veteran’s Day cookies, decorated as a dog tag.
Klassen wasn’t willing to say which approach worked better. In terms of how next year’s 1% Salute, she’s uncertain how that will be structured. She was certain that it will happen.
