UB dental school to offer free care to WNY vets

Published September 17, 2021

The School of Dental Medicine will host the sixth Dentistry Smiles on Veterans, an annual program that welcomes local veterans to receive a day of free dental screenings, cleanings, extractions, restorations and denture repairs.

The program — a partnership between UB Dental and the Eighth District Dental Society — will provide free dental care to nearly 200 Western New York veterans.

The event will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 13 in the UB Dental Clinic in Squire Hall, South Campus.

All veterans are welcome. Appointments are limited. To schedule a visit, call 716-829-2780.

“The University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine is proud to help veterans who have helped our country. It is a small token of our appreciation to assist the folks who have defended our country when it has needed it the most,” says Brendan Dowd, assistant dean for clinical operations in the dental school. 

Dentistry Smiles on Veterans aims to deliver critical services to veterans who lack dental insurance or do not qualify for dental treatment through the Veterans Health Administration, a benefit reserved only for those with service-related dental injuries.

Throughout the day, more than 200 Buffalo-area dentists and hygienists, and UB dental students, faculty and staff will volunteer to provide care that ranges from simple cleanings to oral surgery.

Veterans may also receive health screenings from student and faculty volunteers in the School of Nursing, hearing screenings from the Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences, and information on healthy eating from the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences.