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Aspen Dental gives back to veterans through free dental care

Aiken Standard (SC) - 6/26/2016

June 26--Daphne Simpson and her husband Stanley traveled almost two hours from Covington, Georgia, to the Aspen Dental on Whiskey Road to receive free dental care Saturday.

As a part of its Healthy Mouth Movement, Aspen Dental offered free dental care to veterans across the country.

Daphne, who is in the Navy and whose husband is in the Army, said all the appointments near her home were filled, so she searched her friend's address in Augusta and found the Aiken office.

Most of the patients who were able to get appointments were there for extractions, including Daphne.

"I really appreciate them taking the time to do this," said Daphne, who joked she would have given better answers if she hadn't just had a tooth removed.

Other patients were able to get fill-ins and polishings, said Dr. Hafim Momin, an associate dentist at Aspen Dental.

Momin has been at the Aiken office for only about a year now, but was happy to have an opportunity to participate in the day.

"I just wish we could do a little bit more of it, instead of just having one day," he said.

After seeing the veteran patients, Momin said he and his colleagues will choose one who had a more severe need for more dental work and call them back in to get the rest of the work done for free.

"We only saw one today that was bad, so we're pretty sure we're going to pick him," Momin said.

Even though all the appointments at Aiken's Aspen Dental were full by Saturday, some people didn't show up, and the dentist was able to take walk-ins, administrative coordinator Lindsay Templeton said.

"It's a really rewarding experience, I was really excited to do it," Templeton said.

Templeton said the Healthy Mouth Movement allowed for about 3,500 veterans to be treated, and this year, about 6,000 patients were expected to receive the free care from Aspen Dental locations nation wide.

Daphne, who didn't want her picture taken because of the swelling from her treatment, said she and her husband will definitely be back next year if she needs more work done.

Charnita Mack is a general assignment reporter for the Aiken Standard. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina.

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