NEWS RELEASE
In order to aid in the surplus of veterans needing dental care, the Northern Nevada Dental Health Program has teamed up with the Community Health Alliance and two Reno dentists to treat veterans with oral maladies three days per week.
While Northern Nevada Dental Health Programs’ Adopt a Vet Dental Program (AAVD) has successfully paired over 650 low-income veterans in need with over 115 volunteer dentists in the community to receive pro-bono dental treatment, the number of veterans in need continues to grow rapidly and hundreds are still on an approximately two year waitlist for care. In an effort to expedite treatment of those waitlisted, Northern Nevada Dental Health Programs coordinated an endeavor with its administrator, Community Health Alliance, and two Reno dentists to treat veterans three days per week at the Community Health Alliance Wells Avenue Dental Center until the waitlist is diminished.
This operation is running in addition to support received by 115 other area dentists who have generously donated and continue to donate their time and services to veterans in need through AAVD. Because of this extra effort, the number of waitlisted veterans has decreased by over 100 over the last six months. However, due to increasing number of cases paired with the denial of treatment at the VA Dental Clinic for so many veterans, AAVD is still looking for more dental care providers who would like to participate in the program and give back to area veterans.
“While the goal is to have all waitlisted veterans cared for by the end of 2016, the reality is that there will always be a need for dental care for our low-income veterans,” said Northern Nevada Dental Health Programs President Gregory J. Pisani, DDS. “In addition to this special operation, we still rely on the much needed help of volunteer dental providers throughout the community to treat individual cases.”
