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OLDSMAR, Fla. — A grant from the Florida Veterans Foundation is helping vets across the state gain access to dental care they haven’t been able to afford or qualify for.
Given to the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund, the organization has helped 120 veterans get the dental help they need.
“These veterans can be zero-service connected,” Tami Marti, the Director of Veterans Programs for the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund said. “And also it’s done by an eligibility through (a) financial 300% below poverty guideline. So it opens it up to be able to see more veterans.”
Army veteran Eric Tranholm is one of the veterans who is now able to get the help he’s needed.
During his third appointment, he already knows what to expect.
“I’m getting my permanent crowns put in today, and I might be getting fitted for my partials,” he said.
Tranholm said his dental issues began in the early 90s while serving in the Army.
A manager at an auto-parts store, his teeth deteriorated to the point that he tried not to show them.
“I would hide my mouth when I talk, when I smile,” he said. “It was an embarrassment thing. I was very self-conscious of it.”
At his first appointment, Tranholm had multiple fractured teeth, extensive decay, and significant pain.
Dr. Saed Sayegh, with Nova Dental, said if he had waited a few more years, most of his teeth would have had to be removed.
Tranholm remembers the moment he realized something needed to be done.
“I’m trying to chew food, and a large piece of food got lodged in my throat because I couldn’t chew it properly,” he said. “That’s when I knew I had to do something.”
Tranholm’s dental work is being made possible through the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund.
They received a $400,000 grant in May from the Florida Veterans Foundation to help veterans like Tranholm.
One of the non-profit’s main missions is to help vets with their dental care.
However, Tranholm wouldn’t have qualified before this grant despite the severity of his dental issues.
With no dental insurance and his disability not qualifying through the VA, he had no choice but to delay treatment.
“I have a family. $11,000 can go a long way for my family,” he said. “So that means I had to put myself on the back burner like I’ve done for the last 15 years.”
Wounded Veterans Relief Fund has used $330,000 of the grant money so far.
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Matt Lackritz
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