Health Notes

HEALTH NOTES THE VALUE OF SMILES

By Connie Mitchell | photos by Sarah Carmody

Dr. Herbert Silva tried to retire. But after leaving his busy dental practice in Chesterfield, he wasn’t idle for long before his wife encouraged him to “find something productive.” So Silva was soon back to providing dental care, but to a different patient population.

“I learned about an innovative partnership between A.T. Still University-Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health, a newly established dental school, and St. Louis Affinia Healthcare, a federally qualified community health center, to establish the St. Louis Dental Center and provide oral health care services to patients in and around St. Louis, including the underserved,” he says. Silva now serves as a full-time faculty member and St. Louis Dental Center’s comprehensive care unit director.

Silva appreciates the school’s commitment to underserved populations, including veterans. A former U.S. Marine Corps officer and helicopter pilot, he knows his fellow veterans can experience post-traumatic stress disorder, isolation and depression. “Prior to my dental career, I learned to ‘take care of the troops’ during my service in the Marine Corps,” he says. “I am committed to facilitating students, faculty and our partners to deliver the best possible oral health care to those in need. Our collective efforts are rewarded by the value of their smiles.”

What began with emergency extractions for veterans expanded into an array of dental services, and in the process, dental students also learn clinical skills. More than 400 veterans have received dental care at the clinic, and Silva notes that they represent every branch of service going back to World War II.

“Faculty and students, many of whom are veterans themselves, volunteer in the Saturday morning MOSDOH Smiles for Veterans Clinic in St. Louis and at the Smiles of Hope Dental Clinic in Dexter, Missouri, where we screen and provide extractions,” Silva says. “Those patients travel to St. Louis for full and partial dentures at no cost. Other restorative or preliminary treatment may incur reduced fees.”

Insurance is accepted, but most veterans rely on free or low-cost services covered by individual and corporate donors, including A.T. Still University-Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health staff and students, Affinia Healthcare staff, St. Louis Dental Arts Laboratory, Kettenbach Dental and Vita North America.

The center offers screening and cleaning, extractions, periodontal procedures, restorations and partial or full dentures. “Because we are an oral health care teaching institution, we also provide excellent care to paying patients – those who have insurance or can afford to pay out of pocket for oral health care services,” Silva says.

Silva sees the rewards of his work every day in his patients’ smiles. “When we restore smiles, along with improved function, the results are substantial: better nutrition, improved overall health and well-being, more confidence and social acceptance,” he says. “We often hear smiling veterans say, with emotion, that they may now resume family relationships, dating, education and employment. It’s truly life-changing.” ln Learn more about Smiles for Veterans at giving.atsu.edu.

St. Louis Dental Center, 1500 Park Ave., St. Louis, 314-833-2700, stldentalcenter.org