Stella, 82, lives in Jones County with her son and daughter-in-law and their dogs including her own dog – Spunky. While Stella is in generally good overall health, her oral health was in need of attention.
Stella had not seen a dentist for several years and was missing many teeth. Her remaining teeth were loose, broken and decayed and she had swollen gums that caused her pain. She sought help for her dental issues, but she was unable to afford the recommended treatment plan. Stella survives on a small Social Security Disability benefit and food stamps and struggles to make ends meet, and dental treatment seemed beyond her reach.
How DDS Helped
Fortunately, Stella applied to the Donated Dental Services (DDS) program and was linked with two generous volunteers.
- Dr. Kara Moore, DLN • GA Leadership Council member, extracted 17 teeth.
- Moore Macon Dental donated a full upper denture and full lower denture at no cost.
“Stella was such a wonderful patient. My team and I are very excited to be a part of the DDS program and they loved getting to know Stella and seeing her beautiful smile in the end. They too are using their gifts to serve others. She is exactly the type of patient we are striving to help. It was a fun case and she was so appreciative!”
—Dr. Kara Moore, DDS Volunteer and DLN • GA Leadership Council member
Georgia 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, 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.
