By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
A Bowling Green dental office is hoping to bring smiles to the faces of local veterans next month.
Free dental treatment will be offered to veterans on May 12 through the Stars, Stripes and Smiles program at Drs. Phipps, Levin and Hebeka, at 970 W. Wooster St. The care will be provided from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., on a first come, first serve basis.
The dentists and staff will perform dental cleanings, fillings and extractions. The entire staff will spend the whole day providing care to area veterans.
“We’re trying to serve as many people as we possibly can,” said Dr. Ryan Phipps, who has worked with the Stars, Stripes and Smiles program in Toledo with Dr. Rick Hires, a Navy veteran, who started the program.
“It was very near and dear to his heart to give veterans dental care,” Phipps said. “It’s a real unmet need.”
The Veterans Administration provides dental care only to those who are 100 percent disabled, were prisoners of war, or who received an injury affecting their dental health while serving.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 30 percent of uninsured veterans have not received needed dental care because they can’t afford it. Homeless veterans rank dental care as their third unmet need, right after housing and childcare.
Phipps has worked with the Stars, Stripes and Smiles program for four years with Hires office in Toledo, and decided to try it this year in the Bowling Green office. The Toledo office averaged 120 veterans each year.
“It’s tremendous. Every year I come away feeling like I’m doing good all day,” he said. “We’ve identified a group that has a definite need.”
Those seeking care range from young veterans back from Afghanistan, to a lot of vets who served in Vietnam and a few from the Korean War.
“Most of the patients are pretty desperate” for dental care, Phipps said. “Everyone shakes your hand, looks you in the eye and says ‘thank you.’”
The local dental office has received a great deal of community support for the Stars, Stripes and Smiles program, said Cindy Barr, practice administrator at Drs. Phipps, Levin and Hebeka.
“We’re so excited for this day,” Barr said. “It’s such a worthwhile cause.”
Businesses and individuals have donated raffle prizes and food such as pizza for the veterans waiting to be served. There will also be playing cards and checkers set up in the waiting room for those who have to wait.
Anyone wanting to donate to the program may contact the dental office at 419-352-2569.
