Salute to Smiles program is wrapping up a second year of helping area veterans get much needed dental work and their smiles back. With a network of six participating dental offices and sponsors teaming up with Bay Oral Surgery & Implant Center our program provided more than $60,000 in dental services and supplies to six deserving veterans.
This year we had an exciting first for the program. We helped our first female veteran! Barbra served in the United States Army for seven years. During that time she reached the rank of Sergeant E5, and was proud to serve one year in Afghanistan as a paralegal. Barbra shared that she saw many female medics in combat situations and that her husband also served in the United States Army.
Barb Hass shared that during her service she got a partial denture created, but years later it didn’t fit well and it hurt to wear. Unfortunately, she did not meet the requirements for veteran benefits for dental care and avoided seeing a professional because of the high costs.
Barb had her remaining teeth extracted and received two dental implants in her upper jaw and two implants on her bottom jaw. Dr. David LeMoine with Bay Oral and Dr. Bob Villwock with Bellevue Family Dentistry made two dentures which can snap into place for a nice and tight fit.
“I used to feel so embarrassed about my smile that my husband and I wouldn’t go places, but now with my new smile I can feel confident again,” Barbra shares.
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What really makes the program heartfelt is that it has veterans helping other fellow veterans through this service. Dr. David LeMoine, of Bay Oral Surgery & Implant Center spent three years in the U.S. Army shared it was an honor to help Barbra with improving her smile.
Dentist Office Partners
- Dr. Bob Villwock, Bellevue Family Dentistry
- Dr. Kirk Fishbaugh, Kirk Fishbaugh Dentistry
- Dr. Eric Ulve, Green Bay Family Dental
- Dr. Brian Koch, Oral Health Associates
- Dr. Zach Graf, Dental Arts Associates
- Dr. Matt Scheske, Brodhagen Dental
Bay Oral Team
- Dr. David LeMoine, Bay Oral Surgery & Implant Center
- Dr. Vijay Parmar
- Dr. Bradley Koch
- Dr. Jason LeMoine
- Dr. Charles Ellis
- Dr. Michael Miskella
- Dr. David LeMoine
We are grateful to our veterans and this is a small way we can give back. Thank you to the sponsors who helped make this program a reality along with the doctors for donating their time and services.
Sponsors
If you are interested in participating in Salute to Smiles this year either as a dentist, patient, or sponsor please contact Ellen Greene (egreene@bayoral.com) or Katie VandeVoort (kvandevoort@bayoral.com) at 920-499-0471.