Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM) Cares for Veterans
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM) Cares for Veterans (formerly known as Service With A Smile) was founded in 2019 by two Iraq War combat veterans and dental students at TUSDM, one who is now serving in the Army as a dentist. They had a vision to give back to their veteran comrades and to honor their friends whom they served with who made the ultimate sacrifice for the love of their country. The program is organized out of the Department of Public Health and Community Service.
Our Mission
To Connect Every Veteran in Need of Oral Health Care to a Dental Home and Provide Dental Services to Veterans at Minimal to No Cost.
Our program aims to:
→ Increase access to oral health care for veterans experiencing homelessness in the greater Boston area and veterans in need of dental treatment.
→ Increase awareness of the oral health needs of veterans among our TUSDM faculty and students.
→ Provide dental students the opportunity to deliver oral health education, oral hygiene instruction, and oral health/cancer screenings to veterans residing in community settings.
→ Pair third- and fourth-year dental student providers at TUSDM with veterans in need of dental care.
→ Build positive relationships between our TUSDM community and veterans in the greater Boston area.
→ Diminish the stigma regarding homeless veterans in our community and provide support to them in whatever way we can.
The veterans that we work with and serve are the core of TUSDM Cares for Veterans. Our veterans are not just patients, they become a part of the TUSDM community and family.
History
2019
June
- The TUSDM Service With a Smile program is established as a student volunteer organization and begins twice monthly visits at the New England Center and Home for Veterans (NECHV)
- MOU executed with New England Center and Home for Veterans
October
- Brent Mullen and Keith Nguyen are awarded 2019 Patriots Difference Makers of the Week for their work with the TUSDM Service With a Smile Program
2020
February-March
- ADA Foundation awards TUSDM the E “Bud” Tarrson Dental School Student Community Leadership Award.
- In-person oral health screening and education sessions at NECHV are put on hold due to COVID-19
December
- TUSDM awarded 2020 Massachusetts Dental Society Access to Care Grant
2021
May-July
- TUSDM Service With a Smile receives funding for three 2021 Tisch Summer Fellows to dedicate 100 hours to the program.
- TUSDM awarded 2021 Disabled Veterans National Foundation Capacity Building Grant
- In-person oral health sreening and education sessions resumed at NECHV
- TUSDM connects with Brighton Marine to expand access to care
November-December
- In-person screenings begin at Brighton Marine
- Soldier On partners with TUSDM for transportation of Veterans to and from dental visits
- Giving Tuesday and Veterans Day 2021 Fundraising Event
- TUSDM awarded 2021 Massachusetts Dental Society Access to Care Grant
2022
April-June
- TUSDM Service With a Smile program changes name to TUSDM Cares for Veterans
- TUSDM Cares for Veterans receives funding for three 2022 Tisch Summer Fellows to dedicate 100 hours to the program
- TUSDM Cares for Veterans screens 100th Veteran
August-November
- MOU executed with Brighton Marine
- NECHV and Brighton Marine are established partner sites through a mandatory community service learning (CSL) rotation for third year dental students.
- Patient Navigator is hired for the TUSDM Cares for Veterans program
- Giving Tuesday and Veterans Day 2022 Fundraising Event
2023
February-March
- TUSDM applies for funding from DVNF Capacity Building Program (pending)
- TUSDM Cares for Veterans screens 150th Veteran
- TUSDM applies for Fisher Service Award (pending)
June
- TUSDM completes first year of Community Service Learning Rotation
Looking Forward
TUSDM Cares for Veterans will continue to provide oral health and oral cancer screening sessions at NECHV and Brighton Marine every 6-8 weeks. The first year of the TUSDM Community Service Learning (CSL) Rotation will end June 2023. After the rotation, our D24s will continue to build relationships with their veteran patients in their final year of dental school, as they continue to complete their treatment plan. Our D25s will begin their CSL Rotation in September 2023 going through June 2024. We anticipate to provide oral health education, oral hygiene instruction, oral health and oral cancer screenings to over 120 veterans during this rotation. Of those veterans screened, many will go on to become patients at TUSDM.
While students at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM), Iraq War veterans Dr. Keith Nguyen and Dr. Brent Mullen became friends and began volunteering with Team Red, White, and Blue at the New England Center and Home for Veterans (NECHV) by serving meals to veterans facing temporary homelessness. Keith and Brent wanted to do more to give back to their veteran comrades and to honor their friends whom they served with who made the ultimate sacrifice for the love of their country. They began brainstorming how they could combine their passions- helping fellow veterans and oral health care.
While at TUSDM, they partnered with faculty in the department of Public Health and Community Service to create Smiles for Veterans, a student run organization dedicated to improving the oral health of veterans. The initial group of student volunteers, led by Kathryn Dolan and Dr. Gerard Kugel, hosted their first screening at the NECHV in June 2019. Smiles for Veterans goal is to connect each veteran, especially those experiencing homelessness, to a dental home for comprehensive oral health care.
After graduating from TUSDM, Brent and Keith went on to establish Service With a Smile as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in August 2021. Tufts University School of Dental Medicine collaborates with this organization and continues to serve veterans through our Smiles for Veterans program.