Do you enjoy visiting the dentist? Who does, right?
When I chat with dentists they tell me that their practice suffers during a recession. Why is that? Well, good dental care costs money and many patients are driven to cut costs in a recession and one of the things that often goes is a trip (or many trips) to the dentist. After all, your teeth won't kill you, right? Well your teeth are very close to your brain and that isn't really where you want problems. Also teeth deteriorate if they are not looked after so a short term saving may cost you more, both monetarily and physically than you realize. Now imagine you are homeless. Almost by definition you won't have a dentist to whom you can go. Even if your lifestyle doesn't include teeth-destroying habits like using meth, your teeth will deteriorate and that can be a painful and health-threatening occurrence. These are the patients we serve and the demand is immense - more than we can cover. Once we have taken out any teeth that are beyond repair, we also have a denture program for those who will benefit from having them fitted in the long term. Think about how bad it is to have a toothache, now imagine living on the street with that for months on end. Dental issues are huge for the homeless. We are glad to help but there is a lot to do!
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AuthorI am Jerry Smith, Executive Director of WOFKC. I will use this blog to bring to attention activities of the Foundation of which you may not be aware - hopefully there will be some enlightenment and entertainment herein! Please get in touch to learn more. ArchivesCategories |