{"id":3181,"date":"2011-12-29T06:47:39","date_gmt":"2011-12-29T12:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=3181"},"modified":"2012-12-27T13:28:53","modified_gmt":"2012-12-27T19:28:53","slug":"dental-program-struggles-with-budget-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2011\/12\/29\/dental-program-struggles-with-budget-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Dental Program Copes With State Funding Cavity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Provided<\/p>\n

Paul Gilliam said his dental health declined after he lost his job and insurance coverage. Gilliam's teeth were so bad, he became shy and was embarrassed to talk, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>

The needs of some Oklahomans are more complex in a state that ranks among the worst in oral health.<\/p>

For them there\u2019s D-Dent<\/a>, an organization that coordinates hundreds of dentists to provide free dental care to the elderly, poor and uninsured, among others. And it faces an even more daunting challenge since its state funding was wiped out.<\/p>

When the budget crisis hit in 2010, the State Health Department was hit hard. Funding for several programs, including Dentists for the Disabled and Elderly in Need of Treatment, was totally eliminated.<\/p>

<\/p>

[module align=”right” width=”half” type=”pull-quote”]I lost all my coverage. I lost my job. And then it just got progressively worse…There\u2019s a certain point folk just give up.<\/p>\n

-Paul Gilliam on his life before being contacted by D-Dent<\/h6>

[\/module]<\/p>

\u201cWe here are entirely supportive of this program,\u201d Jana Winfee, Chief of Dental Health Services the Department of Health, said. \u201cThey have our support, just no funds.\u201d<\/p>

Since its inception 25 years ago, a large part of D-Dent\u2019s funding came from the state. D-Dent got just more than 130-thousand dollars in 2009, which covered about a third of its operating budget, the rest coming from groups like the United Way and Delta Dental Oral Health Foundation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Joe Wertz \/ NPR StateImpact<\/p>\n

Paul Gilliam's top and bottom teeth were removed and replaced with dentures.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Through D-Dent, more than 400 Oklahoma dentists donate care to those in need, and\u00a0 \u00a0D-Dent covers the cost of any outside lab work.<\/p>

\u201cTheir stories, it\u2019s so sad,\u201d Barbara Lopez is D-Dent\u2019s Assistant Director said. \u201cAnd they have no other place to go. So, it gives us a good feeling to be able to help these people and say, \u2018I made a difference in that one person\u2019s life.\u2019\u201d<\/p>

Paul Gilliam is a bashful guy and speaks softly from behind very thick glasses.<\/p>

\u201cBefore D-Dent stepped in, I had pretty bad teeth,\u201d Gilliam said.<\/p>

He\u2019s uncomfortable talking about just how bad his teeth had become, but Blanchard dentist and D-Dent participant Travis Turney remembered vividly as he looks at Gilliam\u2019s X-rays.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Joe Wertz \/ NPR StateImpact<\/p>\n

Blanchard dentist Travis Turney donates time and services to the D-Dent program.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\u201cEssentially, all his teeth were severely broken, had a lot of decay, were causing a lot of pain,\u201d Turney said. \u201cThey were causing enough pain to where he really wasn\u2019t able to chew and eat properly on them, so he basically wasn\u2019t eating enough or hardly anything at all.\u201d<\/p>

And Gilliam said losing his vision started a chain reaction of misfortune in his life.<\/p>

\u201cI lost all my coverage. I lost my job. And then it just got progressively worse,\u201d Gilliam said. \u201cYou have to try and keep up your house and then you have to try and get a ride to the grocery store, whatever. And, you know \u2026 there\u2019s a certain point folk just give up.\u201d<\/p>

That was Paul\u2019s life before Dr. Turney pulled his teeth and replaced them with new dentures at no cost. Now he recalls with a broad, flawless smile how his life has changed since being approached by D-Dent.<\/p>\n

\n

Related<\/h4>\n
\n
Posts<\/h5>\n