LINCOLN, NE – The Nebraska Department of Veteran Affairs was recognized for their work in providing free dental care to veterans, their spouses and surviving spouses.
On Feb. 21, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs presented the NDVA the Abraham Lincoln Pillars of Excellence Award in recognition of the Veterans Mission of Mercy Dental Clinic, held in October 2023.
“It’s an honor to receive a Pillars of Excellence award two years in a row, and it speaks to the efforts NDVA is making to serve veterans and their families through innovative initiatives,” said NDVA Director John Hilgert. “The dental clinic is a great example of how we do things in Nebraska because it was a close collaboration between several organizations, all of which recognized an unmet need in our state and offered their specific resources and expertise to help meet that need.”
Hundreds of volunteers from dozens of organizations helped conduct the clinic which provided 309 individuals, including 225 veterans and 84 spouses and surviving spouses of veterans, with free dental care. Services included exams, cleanings, fillings, root canals, extractions, and more. Sixty individuals received dentures over the course of the clinic, thanks to technology that allowed for intraoral scanning and 3D printing of dentures that could be picked up the same day or the next.
The value of care provided at the clinic, based on equivalent Medicaid/Medicare reimbursements, totaled $406,512. In total, 2,323 dental services were provided, with most participants receiving multiple services. One participant remarked the estimate he’d received for all the work he needed exceeded $30,000, and thanks to the clinic, most of that work had been done at no cost.
“Veterans are one of the largest underserved dental populations in Nebraska,” said State Dental Health Director Dr. Charles F. Craft. “By pooling our professional resources together, with the assets of the NDVA and the NE National Guard, we were able to conduct a humanitarian mission that helped address the oral health care needs of many veterans. The success of this first-time event demonstrated the pride Nebraska has for its military members. It was an honor to serve those who served our country.”
