It takes a special person, a selfless person, to sign up for a life of service. Every November 11, Veterans Day, we as a nation take the time to thank those who have served for our country. Served for us. Smiles Dental takes it one step further and honors veterans and active military the entire month of November. The Tumwater location has many military personal as patients with JBLM so close by and they want to ensure those serving our country know they are appreciated.
“Especially in the Olympia area, we have a lot of patients who are veterans or active duty and we want to make sure they know we appreciate what they are doing,” says Lauren Seeger, marketing manager for Smiles Dental. “We want to thank them for it and this is a great way for us to do that.”
Over half a million veterans live in Washington State according to the United States Department of Veteran Affairs last report from September 2015. At that time, only 22 percent of veteran patients received health care at a VA health care facility. “Even if this number has increased in the last two years, we know that there is room for more patients to receive care,” Seeger says. “We want to do our part to help more veterans get dental care.”
In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number of American adults ages 18-64 with a dental visit in the past year was just 62 percent. In that same study, they found that 20 percent of Americans had no usual source of health care and 11 percent did not have necessary dental care done due to cost.
Smiles for Veterans
“There’s a huge need for veterans in our community to receive quality dental care,” says Dr. Melody Pongmanopap, dentist at the Smiles Dental Tumwater location. “Our team recognizes this need and decided to provide this gift to significantly change a veteran’s life for the better.”
The Tumwater Smiles Dental has participated in the Smiles for Veterans program for the past three years. Every November, Smiles Dental offers a 15 percent discount on all dental services to military members, both active duty and veterans. “We offer a 10 percent discount year round to vets and servicemen and women,” says Seeger. “But during November, we take the opportunity and give them something extra.”
In addition, from now through the end of November, anyone can nominate an Olympia-area veteran to receive up to $3,000 toward their dental treatment plan. This gift was created because Smiles Dental knows there is a serious need for veterans to obtain quality dental care and they want to do their part to help.
One veteran who received a past gift expressed gratitude to Smiles Dental, saying it changed his life: “I just want to say ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’ to everyone at Smiles Dental for everything you have done for me. Because of you, I now have a complete smile once again. This has truly been life-changing for me. Bless every one of you.”
If you are a veteran in need of dental care, Seeger recommends making an appointment for November as soon as you can. “We do fill up fast since we have the veteran’s discount right now as well as the ‘Use it or Lose it’ program where people are trying use their yearly benefits before they expire December 31. We are definitely busy,” she adds. “But if you call, we will fit you in this month.” They have regular business hours all month long and will be closed on Thursday, November 23 for Thanksgiving.
“It is so important for everyone – not just military – to have good dental health because we know that dental health is the ‘window to your body,’” says Seeger. “Your dental health is directly related to many other wellness issues that people experience throughout their body.” For this reason they also have their Gift of Smiles program each February. This is open to anyone in the community in need of dental care but cannot afford it.
To nominate a veteran for the Smiles for Veterans gift, visit the Smiles Dental website. Deadline to nominate is November 30.
Smiles Dental Tumwater
344 Cleveland Ave. Suite F in Tumwater
360-464-9797
Monday-Wednesday: 9:00 a.m-5:00 p.m.
Thursday:10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m (administrative day, no appointments, available for scheduling)
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