This story was produced by El Tiempo Latino. La puedes leer en español aquí.

Maribel Chacón arrived from Venezuela three years ago. Due to a lack of money, she had been postponing an intensive dental check-up. She had cavities that made her fear that if a toothache occurred, she might not be able to afford to address the pain.

Then Chacón learned that Mary’s Center, a health clinic with multiple locations in Maryland and D.C., was providing dental care. “I ran to get an appointment,” she said. “I had an evaluation and learned that, because I was 62 years old, the treatment was free. Imagine how happy I was.”

For people like her, there is a temporary $1 million annual fund to cover these costs. Last year, Mary’s Center and the Howard University College of Dentistry became the first partners of Delta Dental Community Care Foundation’s initiative to create local coalitions that address the oral health needs of low-income seniors — including undocumented immigrants. This pilot program will run for four more years and is only for those living in D.C. and Montgomery County.

Both organizations already provided reduced-fee or free basic services for low-income patients. But the pilot program subsidizes that work and has allowed them to do more. “This fund allows us to provide comprehensive dental care, with x-rays, cleaning, fillings and crowns, gum treatment, and partial or complete dentures,” said Richard Gesker, executive vice president of Dental Services at Mary’s Center. “The most rewarding thing is restoring health to patients’ mouths. That they can eat and smile.”

The impact for individuals

Chacón is grateful because, apart from the free service, the specialists are very competent. “My doctor doesn’t speak Spanish, but the assistant does. They have modern equipment, everything is digital, and that is new for me. I have already had my cavities treated, but I still need other treatments,” she added.

The amazing thing — in Gesker’s words — is that, since the pilot program was launched, more than 600 patients signed up with Mary’s Center almost immediately and another 1,500 patients over 60 have been treated. When these figures are added to those of Howard University’s dental service, the total number of patients reached was 3,400 in nine months. More than 200 surgeries and more than 500 partial or total dentures were performed in that time.

By the time Maria Cortez, 81, recovered after being hospitalized, her gums had shrunk and her dentures were no longer useful. “I didn’t want to go out or talk because I was ashamed of being toothless and I only ingested liquids,” Cortez explained. “One day, a daughter of mine found out that at Mary’s Center there is a service that can be paid for in installments. It turned out that there was a free program for low-income seniors. I already have my new teeth. I can eat and laugh, and they didn’t look down on me for being Latina.”

The balance between oral health and the rest of the body is crucial, more so among elderly people. “The first step in the digestive process begins with chewing,” Gesker said. “If teeth are missing or if there is pain, the diet changes: they replace fruits and vegetables with foods rich in carbohydrates and sugars. Patients suffer gastrointestinal problems and lose weight or become obese, and that can lead to diabetes.”

For marginalized communities

When asked if many Latino seniors are benefiting from this program, Gesker noted that between 60% and 65% of the local Latino population has Mary’s Center as their clinic of choice. “Our services are Spanish-speaking, and we welcome patients of all ages. When it comes to dental care, I want Latinos to know that it’s never too late to go to the dentist.”

In the United States, some 76.5 million people lack dental insurance and 64% of older adults have chronic gum infections. Among immigrants, especially among the elderly, the high costs of dental care have become a public health crisis.

Delta Dental stepped forward to partner with Mary Center and Howard University because “they understand all too well why older adults, especially historically underserved communities of color, do not have access to the dental care they desperately need,” said Kenzie Ferguson, Delta Dental’s Foundation and Corporate Social Responsibility vice president, in a statement.

“Delta Dental’s goal is to improve oral health and provide access to quality care,” according to Ferguson. “We couldn’t be prouder of the great work of our allies and the profound impact they have already made in the lives of so many seniors in D.C., and this is just the beginning.”

This article was translated into English by El Tiempo Latino.