Dr. Dallin Snow, a Dental Lifeline Network DLN • AZ Leadership Council member, worked with John Henry and Crane Dental Arts and Bertram Dental Lab to help restore the dental health and smile of an elderly woman named Darlene.
Darlene lives with her husband in Mesa and has dealt with continued health issues such as high blood pressure and diabetes that have, in turn, caused her dental health to decline. By the time Darlene saw Dr. Snow, she only had 12 teeth left that were decayed and a 25-year-old denture that no longer fit properly. As a retired person with a small fixed income, Darlene was unable to afford the dental treatment she was in desperate need of.
Fortunately, Darlene applied to the Donated Dental Services (DDS) program and was linked with three generous volunteers that restored both her smile and dental health. Dr. Snow provided Darlene with a comprehensive exam, restored seven teeth, and donated a partial upper and lower denture. John Henry and Crane Dental Arts fabricated the partial upper and lower dentures at no cost while Bertram Dental Lab fabricated the appliances for the partial dentures.
“Dr. Snow was a doll! The whole office was wonderful and treated me like every other paying patient; they were very, very nice!” said Darlene of her DDS program experience.
The DDS program not only provides care and support for those in need, but it also provides volunteers with a renewed purpose for the profession and shows them how their work makes an impact on others. “Darlene brought a gift and the nicest card thanking everyone in the office for our service,” Dr. Snow said. “She even remembered everyone’s name and mentioned them by name in the card.”
Thanks to generous volunteers like Dr. Snow, Arizona volunteers have donated over $2 million dollars in dental care to those in need since the Arizona program’s inception in 2002.
