Ronald is a 59-
year-old man living alone in Edison. He suffers from type II diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. Ronald also had to have two and a half of his toes removed a few years ago as a result of poor circulation because of his diabetes. Prior to his surgery, Ronald worked as a forklift driver, but he is no longer able to do so. Additionally, his dental health had declined. Most of Ronald’s upper teeth were missing, as well as some of his lower teeth, making it very difficult to chew. With only a small fixed income, Ronald was unable to afford the care he needed.
Fortunately, Ronald was referred to the Donated Dental Services (DDS) program, where he matched with three very generous volunteers.
- Oral Surgeon Dr. Richard K. Stern extracted 14 of Ronald’s teeth.
- Dr. Mark Vitale conducted an initial exam and fitted Ronald for dentures.
- Kuwata Pan Dent Laboratory fabricated Ronald’s dentures at no cost.
“Its been 20 years or more since I was smiling. Now that the work on my full mouth dentures is complete, I can’t stop smiling, looking in the mirror and being able to eat the foods I’ve always loved.” -Ronald, DDS Patient
