GDA Celebrates 150 Years of Service & Advocacy

Exploring: Indigent Care

GDA Celebrates

150 Years

of Service and Advocacy

By Mark S. Ritz, DDS, President Georgia Dental Association Since the Georgia Dental Association (GDA) was founded in 1859, Association dentists have worked diligently to uphold the highest standards of dentistry and patient care for all Georgians through education, advocacy, and professionalism. For instance, GDA dentists urge lawmakers to adequately fund and administer the state’s Medicaid and PeachCare public oral health programs, and help thousands of needy Georgians by participating in many worthwhile volunteer programs. I am honored that I will serve as president during the GDA’s 150th birthday year, and happy to share with you some highlights of the GDA’s outstanding legacy of advocacy and service.

Give Kids A Smile

Since 2003, GDA dentists have volunteered on Give Kids A Smile Day to provide free treatment to low-income children. The GDA has traditionally conducted a service event in a part of the state with a large indigent population. Based just on results from this concentrated project area, GDA members have provided more than $140,000 worth of services to more than 800 children. This amount does not take into account programs and services conducted by hundreds of individual dentists conducted volunteering in their own communities.

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Dental Explorer | First Quarter 2009

Children’s Dental Health Month

Each February, dentists and dental staff members participate in a variety of programs to educate children and young adults on good oral health. These dental volunteers reach approximately 15,000 children every year statewide through school programs, puppet shows, health fairs, and oral screenings.

Dental Clinics

In 2008, GDA dentists volunteer at numerous community clinics that provide free or discounted dental care to the needy. Some clinics are large, such as the Ben Massell Dental Clinic in Atlanta, which utilizes the talents of some 100 volunteer dentists to perform more than 14,500 procedures on approximately 6,000 patients. Some are small, such as the new free clinic housed at Savannah Technical College that is open one morning a week and is run with help from six volunteer dentists. Regardless of their size, all of these charitable clinics are valuable to the patients who benefit. Many dentists not only volunteer, they also bring along their paid staff persons, such as assistants and dental hygienists, to help as well. And there are dentists who have taken the next step and actually helped start dental clinics in their communities to care for the less fortunate.

Georgia Partnership for Caring

Through the Georgia Partnership for Caring Foundation, dentists provide pro bono care in their offices for indigent persons who don’t qualify for other support services.

The GDA was a charter member of this worthy non-profit organization.

Government Dental Health Program Support

Association programs such as Legislative Awareness (LAW) Days and the Contact Dentist Program provide avenues for dentists talk to legislators about the importance of oral health care and funding oral health care programs for the disadvantaged. Since practically its inception as an organization, the GDA has served as an advocate for the state’s dental public health program.

And as the state’s Medicaid and PeachCare programs have evolved, GDA members have spent countless hours lobbying for fair and equitable treatment for both patients enrolled in the programs, and dentists who provide care under the programs.

School Entry Free Oral Evaluation

Approximately 400 GDA dentists participate annually in the School Entry Free Oral Evaluation Program, a statewide service for children entering Georgia public schools for the first time. The Georgia Department of Human Resources requires students to undergo basic dental examinations regardless of the grade being entered. These GDA dentists agree to see children at no charge for a basic exam to fulfill this entry requirement.

Special Athletes, Special Smiles

Each year during the Special Olympics Georgia Summer Games, volunteer dentists screen and refer hundreds of mentally challenged athletes. Throughout the day, dentists screen these athletes for dental problems and refer those needing additional care to a dentist in their community. Georgia was one of the first states to initiate this worthwhile community service program in 1994.

Pro Bono Care in Dental Offices

In addition to volunteering in other venues, hundreds of GDA dentists annually provide pro bono care and treatment in their private dental offices. Many of these needy patients are referred through churches, service organizations, or nursing homes. According to a 2008 GDA member survey, almost 80% of responding dentists donate thousands of dollars in pro bono care each year to help the less fortunate.

150 Faces Campaign

Last but not least, I want to shine a spotlight on our GDA 150 Faces campaign. The GDA launched this campaign to celebrate the charitable care that dentists regularly provide to patients in need. The stories shared via this campaign touch the heart—dentists who provide full mouth restorations to victims of physical abuse, help patients whose families were facing financial ruin, make

the smile of a special needs child a little brighter. This campaign puts stories and faces with the volunteer efforts GDA dentists quietly conduct behind the scenes every single day in our state. I encourage everyone to visit www. gadental.org starting in January 2009 to read one or more of these 150 cases and take away a smile.

Despite the challenges facing our profession today, I enjoy being a Georgia dentist, making my patients’ oral health better, and benefitting from the opportunities the GDA provides me to help my profession and patients. I look forward to commemorating 150 years of GDA service and advocacy in 2009, and I hope every dentist joins in the celebration. ** Mark S. Ritz, DDS, received his dental degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry in 1979.

He then completed a dental general practice residency at Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia, after which he opened a general dentistry practice in Homerville, Georgia. Among his many honors, Dr. Ritz received a GDA Presidential Commendation in 2006, is a GDA Honorable Fellow, and received the AGD Distinguished Service Award in 2001.

He is also a Fellow of the International College of Dentists, the American College of Dentists, and the Pierre Fauchard Academy. Dr. Ritz is a Past Chairman of the GDA Finance Committee and an American Dental Association Delegate. He has chaired GDA task forces on GDA Investment Policy, Health Profession Shortage Areas, and Fluoride Varnish and has served on many other committees and task forces. Dr. Ritz is the current Vice-Chair of the ADA Council on Dental Practice. He and his wife Kathy reside in Homerville. They have two children, Laura and Matthew.

Dental Explorer | First Quarter 2009

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