Edentulous dental mission for Omaha nation Native Americans supported

    Aug. 15, 2007
    DENTSPLY Prosthetics provides denture acrylics, artificial teeth and accessory materials for mission.

    From the standpoint of dental disease and missing teeth, Native Americans suffer disproportionately when compared to mainstream U.S. populations.

    With little time and few resources to address replacement of missing teeth for inhabitants of the Omaha Nation, the Academy of Prosthodontics and Omaha leaders collaborated to provide free denture care.

    Replacement of missing teeth not only restores function and appearance, while preserving occlusal relationships preventing remaining teeth and jaws from collapsing.

    For the past three years donated removable prosthodontic care has been provided under the leadership of Dr. Sreenivas Koka, consultant prosthodontist at the Mayo Clinic.

    During the week of August 6 to 10, dentists from Missouri, Texas, Nebraska and Minnesota, as well as dental assistants and lab technicians, converged on Macy, Neb., in a carefully choreographed display of bustling activity to address the edentulous needs of Omaha tribe.

    Underpinning these efforts DENTSPLY Prosthetics, York, Pa., provided denture acrylics, artificial teeth and accessory materials. The treatment atmosphere is one of compassion, collegiality and service as all participants are volunteers and seek no reimbursement for their time and hard work.

    With the donated materials, clinical research dentist, Dr. Nels Ewoldsen, and senior product manager, Kimberly Violante, traveled to Macy to construct removable prostheses for patients expressing greatest need for replacement teeth.

    Restoration of smiles with simplified removable prosthodontics restores a sense of wholeness to patients, improving self esteem and providing dental benefits ranging from nutritional improvement to preservation of remaining oral tissues with restored function.

    It's the "smiles" that make it all worthwhile!

    Violante trained outside her regular workday to learn resin handling techniques allowing her to function as a technician contributing to the team. Novel resin systems from DENTSPLY Prosthetics and the incredible array of Trubyte artificial teeth make it possible for experienced as well as relatively inexperienced volunteers to complete a record number of prostheses in five working days.