By Mark Gunderman, CVTC Communications Specialist
The Dental Clinic at Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) will again be offering a chance for veterans to receive free dental care this year.
Home page photo: Dental hygienist Danielle Van Ark of Smiles in Motion in Eau Claire provided dental care to Mike Becker of Star Prairie, WI during last year’s “Give Vets a Smile” event at the CVTC Dental Clinic. (Photo provided by CVTC)
The second annual ” Give Vets a Smile” event is set for Saturday, Nov. 12 from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at the clinic at the CVTC Health Education Center, 615 W. Clairemont Ave. in Eau Claire. Any veteran without other dental benefits who has a current military ID or is enrolled in VA Health Care is eligible to participate.
“We had a tremendous response to this event when we first held it last year,” said Pam Entorf, CVTC Dental Hygienist program instructor and outreach coordinator of the clinic.
“We were able to help about 70 veterans with this much-needed service. Veterans do not receive any dental benefits unless they are 100% percent disabled or suffered an oral injury related to their service.”
Dental Hygiene services available include a BP screening, oral assessment, patient education, dental cleaning, x-rays, dental exam and fluoride treatment. Dental services available include fillings, extractions, limited root-canal therapy, and limited denture services.
All work will be performed by dental hygiene students, dental assistant students, staff and licensed dental hygienists, licensed dentists and volunteers. The services are free of charge to veterans. The clinic may not be able to take care of all of a patient’s dental needs during the visit, but will take care of the most urgent needs first.
“This is our way of of saying ‘Thank you for serving our country,’ ” Entorf said.
To schedule an appointment, call 715-833-6271 or visit www.cvtc.edu/Dental.