A DEEPER PURPOSE
By now you know that a major heart-string for me is the aspect of taking advantage of those opportunities in life to help someone in a way that only you and I can. As dentists we perform the daily functions of our profession for a schedule full of patients who then offer us something in return – obviously money in some form. We feel good if our production goals have been met and everyone is happy … I suppose.
For me (and I’m sure many others), however, there has always been a deeper purpose, something that draws us to the one who cannot obtain for themselves what so many consider routine – chief among those being oral health. Most of us consider our patients as either those with insurance or those with no insurance. Unfortunately, among those without dental insurance coverage there is a population forced to choose between funding the most basic essential needs (food, medicine, utilities) versus attempting to afford “luxuries” such as going to the dentist. All too often they simply cannot.
This was a major consideration for some forward-thinking people in the 1990s leading to the birth of a program called Dental OPTIONS. If you are unfamiliar, OPTIONS is an acronym for Ohio Partnership To Improve Oral health through access to Needed Services. It is a collaboration between the ODA and the Ohio Department of Health where financially qualifying Ohio adults can be paired with a participating OPTIONS dentist to receive needed oral health care. In its prime the program boasted more than 900 ODA member dentists participating. Although there was a period of dormancy several years ago due to funding issues, the program is again up and running with a cumulative $22 million plus in donated care for the citizens of Ohio! We hope to see the program grow even more and need your help! More about that later.
I have had the privilege of treating a number of OPTIONS patients over the years. One of my favorites was an older lady named Mada. She had some health issues that dried up most of her savings and she had obviously neglected her own oral health. When I first met her she was crying because she “just knew that all of her teeth would need to come out.” After an exam and imaging I was able to inform her that only a couple required extraction, the rest could be saved, and they WOULD be saved because of Dental OPTIONS. I wish I would have documented her case from beginning to end so that I could show you, not so much the dentistry, but the rebirth of a true “smile” that comes from within. A tired but true adage is that “we probably cannot change the world, but maybe we can each change one person’s world.” Mada’s world looked a little different when she saw her smile in the mirror. She cried again but this time it came with a hug. I have never had more appreciative patients than those I’ve been blessed to meet through the OPTIONS program.
Here are a few more facts about Dental OPTIONS:
- Treatment is rendered on a donated or discounted basis, based on the patient’s income. These determinations are made by a referral coordinator who serves as the first contact for a patient applying to the program.
- Which and how many patients a dentist sees within the OPTIONS program is completely within the control of the dentist. Maybe taking one patient a year is all that a particular dentist can do while another may be able to see more than that. It’s entirely up to you.
- Once treatment is complete, the decision to have the patient remain in the dentist’s practice is completely up to the dentist. You are not obligated to keep the patient past completion of the OPTIONS treatment plan.
- Continuing education credit may be available based on the number of hours spent treating a DONATED care OPTIONS patient.
The Dental OPTIONS program is one of several opportunities that we as ODA members have to have a small part in serving. Each of us can help at least one other person in the community around us. Each of us can give a little bit of time – a little of what we have been gifted – to rebuild a smile. The question is, “will we?” I think we can.
For more information or to register as a provider for Dental OPTIONS visit https://www.oda.org/get-involved/in-your-community/volunteer-for-dental-options/.
