Ingrid, 57, lives in Union county near her daughter and two grandchildren. She has experienced many challenges in her life. Formerly a domestic violence victim she has worked hard to rebuild her life. Ingrid is now involved with a community ministry and volunteers to help others with similar issues.
Unfortunately, her health remains a significant challenge and she suffers from heart problems, COPD, fibromyalgia, back problems, and PTSD. Sadly, her dental health was deteriorating and she was missing several teeth and others were decayed. She was having difficulty eating and she was embarrassed to smile.
Formerly a cook at a local college, Ingrid lost her job after a serious car accident that resulted in a permanent disability. Now, she survives on a small Social Security Disability benefit and struggles to make ends meet. Though she desperately wanted to regain her smile and oral health, the extensive dental treatment she needed seemed beyond her reach.
How DDS Helped
Fortunately, Ingrid was referred to the Donated Dental Services (DDS) program and she was linked with two generous volunteers.
- Dr. Haleh Kossari extracted two teeth and restored four others.
- Steve’s Dental donated an upper and lower partial denture at no cost.
“I would like to hug and kiss you to show how grateful I am because you had the heart to help get my teeth back. Today I can smile. I feel so loved, so thankful. Thank you so much!”
— Ingrid, DDS Patient
New Jersey Donated Dental Services (DDS) is a program of Dental Lifeline Network, a national humanitarian organization and a strategic partner of the ADA, providing access to comprehensive dental care for people with disabilities or who are elderly or medically fragile and have no other way to get help. Nationally, almost 16,000 dentists and 3,500 laboratories volunteer for DDS.
Learn more about volunteering or to learn about DDS in your state, visit our state pages.
