Delta Dental of Arkansas is providing leadership, volunteer, and financial support for Operation Stand Down, a day of free dental care for eligible Arkansas veterans on Friday, November 3.
Two company executives and five current or previous board members are among the dentists planning and volunteering at the event. The Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation serves as the major financial sponsor with a $15,000 grant for dental supplies to be shared among participating dental clinics.
Now in its second year in Arkansas, Operation Stand Down will be hosted by the Arkansas International College of Dentistry and coordinated by the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs at six locations: Fort Smith, Fayetteville, Jonesboro, Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and Arkadelphia.
Veterans must request an appointment for dental care services by emailing Gina Chandler at the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs at gina.chandler@arkansas.gov or calling 501-682-6487.
Proof of discharge papers, a DD214, will be required for verification purposes.
Veterans will be assigned a specific appointment time at the regional site clinic nearest to their location. Appointments will be made on a first-come, first-served basis. Priority will be given to acute or urgent treatments. No walk-ins will be accepted on the day of Operation Stand Down.
In Arkansas, Niki Carter, DMD, MPH, Dental Director at Delta Dental of Arkansas, and R. Mark Bailey, DDS, of Waldron, a Delta Dental of Arkansas board member, are spearheading the statewide efforts to host Operation Stand Down. They will also join an estimated 50 other dentists from across the state who have volunteered to treat patients or provide clinic support, including these Delta Dental of Arkansas employees and board members:
- Thomas Redd, DDS, MS, VP of Professional Relations, Delta Dental of Arkansas
- Ned Alley, DDS, of Little Rock, board member, Delta Dental of Arkansas
- Troy Bartels, DDS, of Jonesboro, board member, Delta Dental of Arkansas
- Cara Jones, DDS, of Little Rock and Pine Bluff, board member, Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation
- David Bell, DDS, of Arkadelphia, former board member, Delta Dental of Arkansas Drs. Alley, Bartels, Jones, and Bell have donated their clinics as sites.
Also donating their clinics for Operation Stand Down are River Valley Smile Center of Fort Smith and Beavers & Broomfield Dentistry of Fayetteville.
In addition to the grant from the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation, the event has received financial support from ArcBest of Fort Smith, Patterson Dental Little Rock, and Edmonds Dental Supply of Springfield, Mo. ArcBest served as the major sponsor of the 2022 inaugural event.
Hosted by the International College of Dentistry, Operation Stand Down was launched in 2012 by an Indiana dentist and Air Force veteran who sought a scalable solution to the neglected oral health he observed among his ex-military patients. Since then, the event has expanded to multiple states. Volunteer dentists provide free dental care to eligible veterans on a designated day, typically on or around Veterans Day.
About Delta Dental of Arkansas
Delta Dental of Arkansas is the largest dental benefits provider in the state, helping more than 800,000 Arkansans keep their smiles healthy through commercial and Medicaid coverage. As a not-for-profit company, Delta Dental is committed to improving the oral health of Arkansans through the philanthropic efforts of its Foundation, which donated more than $3 million to support oral health education initiatives in the last three years.
For more information, visit https://www.deltadentalar.com/.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDIT: Markus Winkler on Unsplash.
