Oral care more than a smile

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Madelyn Brown
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  In the summer of 2011, Staff Sgt. Anthony Molosz, 60th Medical Group Dental Squadron dental assistant, traveled to the Republic of Suriname, in South America, to provide oral care to more than 2,000 patients during a two-week time frame.

In the years since, these humanitarian missions have become fewer and fewer due to the budget constraints. The cancellation of a joint dental humanitarian mission with the Navy after the government shutdown motivated Molosz to take action.

His desire to provide dental care to those who need it most led him to his own Solano County backyard.

"Around mid-March I received an email notification from the California Dental Association about an event called CDA Cares," said the Nebraska native. "I started walking around the squadron and recruiting people who wanted to volunteer."

CDA Cares is an annual, volunteer-driven event that provides oral care to the homeless and to those who can't afford it. This year, the event took place in Vallejo, California April 25 and 26.

"CDA Cares can change lives overnight, allowing many people to walk into a job interview with new confidence, particularly those who received partial or full dentures at our events," said Alicia Malaby, CDA director of communications.

Molosz and his team, alongside more than 1,700 other volunteers, supported the two-day event, that provided care to more than 1,900 patients in the community that otherwise could not afford it.

Volunteers ranged from professionals in the field of dentistry, to translators, to members of various volunteer organizations to make the event a success.

"CDA Cares depends on community volunteers to help run the clinic by escorting patients, entering data, translating and setting up and tearing down," Malaby said. "We had nearly 1,800 volunteers donating their time at CDA Cares Solano and working tirelessly to help keep the clinic running smoothly."

Due to the varying degrees of necessary care for each patient, the CDA cares event was divided into several different sections.

"The main idea behind CDA Cares was getting people out of pain and ridding them of infections," Molosz said. "There were stations to create dentures as well as retainer flippers, a general dentistry section for fillings, some cosmetics for the front teeth, and an oral surgery section to extract teeth and remove infections."

To support the massive amount of patients, dental professionals also set up a sterilization area to keep the tools sanitary for use.

According to Molosz, proficient oral care is much more important than the cosmetics of a pretty smile.

"A lot of people don't realize that some systemic diseases are aggravated by poor oral health," Molosz said. "It can cause diabetes to be exacerbated. Tooth abscesses can cause heart problems. Though there's no causal relationship, there's a correlation between poor oral health and poor overall health."

Most people would not find going to the dentist, on a weekend as early as 4 a.m., exciting. However, for the people that don't have the luxury to take such care for granted, the oral care was received with positive attitudes. Many elect to share their testimonials with the CDA staff and volunteers.

"Their responses are heartwarming and filled with gratitude for the care they received," Malaby said. "We know some patients have successfully landed jobs after receving care at our clinics and they follow-up with us to share their good news."

According to Molosz, hearing these experiences is what makes the volunteer work gratifying.

"It feels great to interact with the community and provide them with something they need," Molosz said. "The translators allowed us to overcome the language barrier and interact. They were happy to be there and we were happy to help. It was good to see a part of life that we don't normally see on an Air Force base."