More than 85 percent of Veteran Health Administration (VHA) enrollees are not eligible for dental care coverage. As such, 7.6 million veterans who are eligible for other primary care through the VHA are not receiving dental care.
Since 2008, Dr. Theresa Cheng, DDS, of Issaquah, Washington, has worked to change this.
Her commitment to changing this situation began in 2008 after reading a newspaper article about a mother's struggles to obtain services for her son who had been wounded in Iraq. As a result, she started hosting free dental days for military caregivers, later expanding the service to eligible service members, veterans and their spouses.
"I learned quickly that most veterans do not get dental benefits," said Cheng. She added that many could not afford a dental insurance plan from the Veterans Administration to take care of their dental needs.
"They may just take care of that tooth that hurts, then they pay whatever the difference is with their insurance for that extraction. From a dental perspective, that doesn't provide them with good oral care. They still had other infections in their mouths," she continued. "That was the thing that I would find so discouraging. They're never able to take care of their mouths completely."
Selling her dental practice of 22 years in 2017, she established Everyone for Veterans, or E4V. Headquartered in Issaquah, it is a nonprofit unaffiliated with the Veterans Administration or the federal government. E4V serves honorably discharged veterans who have completed a least one enlistment period, plus their spouses and children.
The organization works with volunteer dental professionals across the country to provide free, comprehensive dental care, resources and support.
"At E4V, we call dentists around the country where the qualified veterans live and let them know about what we do, and many have answered our calls," explained Cheng. "For these veterans, dentists and staff are not just fixing their teeth, we are feeding their souls."
To receive care, veterans have to have served for a minimum of two years, be honorably discharged, be less than 100 percent service-connected disabled and show proof of financial hardship. In filling out an application form, veterans have to submit their DD214 paperwork, a Veterans Administration disability award letter for the current year and, if a veteran's spouse is applying, a marriage certificate.
"When we receive an application, we search our database for a provider in their area," said Jessica Elwell, E4V's Executive Director. "Since our providers are volunteers, we work diligently to recruit new dental professionals in areas where veterans need assistance."
Currently, E4V has seven active volunteers in Tacoma, Lakewood, Spanaway, Puyallup and Fife.
Elwell cautioned that due to the high volume of applications, E4V has temporarily paused new applications through Nov. 1. Veterans can apply once the application window reopens at https://www.everyoneforveterans.org/applynow where they can also find more information about the program and eligibility requirements.
"We appreciate your patience during this time, and I would like to share our gratitude to the many veterans and their families in the greater Joint Base Lewis-McChord (area)," Elwell concluded. "Our staff and leadership are dedicated to serving veterans (and) as an organization we are dedicated to improving the lives of our nation's heroes."