Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
AMERICAN FORK — Iraqi refugee Lateef Al Bidhan could not express his delight in English.
But his wide smile transcended the language gap.
Flashing a smile, Bidhan pointed to his mouth and said, "Tom Cruise! Tom Cruise!" as he showed off the difference in his appearance after popping a partial denture in his mouth.
He was one of dozens of refugees who received free dental care Friday at the dental clinic at Henry Schein Practice Solutions' Center of Excellence. Friday was the final day of the weeklong event, organized by the nonprofit organization Share a Smile.
More than 100 dental professionals — dentists, hygienists and assistants — volunteered their time to provide a wide array of care to 83 refugees from nine countries. The nonprofit provides free dental care to people in need, but this was the first time it had organized an event for refugees, said Heather Hogue, executive director of Share a Smile.
Most refugees have unmet dental needs so some of the procedures performed over the past week have been extensive, such as root canals and extractions of teeth beyond restoration.
"Any adult refugee coming in, there is really very limited access to care. They can get an extraction, but if there is other work that needs to be done, they're kind of on their own. So we're coming in trying to fill that gap and take care of people that have some pretty extensive dental needs," Hogue said.
The donated services also included dental cleanings and instruction on proper dental hygiene, she said.
"Some of the refugees from Congo, they've never seen a dentist in their life. We're getting them into a chair and saying, 'Open your mouth,' and they're saying, 'Now what?' They don't know what to expect. They don't know if it's going to hurt. They don't know what the mirror is for," Hogue said.
Dr. Jon Jenson, an endodontist from Orem, said volunteering to work with refugees had been an enjoyable experience.
"I've been blessed with a skill and it's fun to be able to share that skill with others," he said.
But the care takes a deft touch, particularly because of language barriers between caregivers and patients and their unfamiliarity with dental care.
Some refugees have broken teeth resulting from beatings. Some have even experienced torture by dental extraction, said Dr. Kyle Clark, a dentist from Highland.
"I can see how that could create anxiety if you had a history like that," he said.
Most of the patients he cared for Friday expressed immense gratitude for the care, Clark said.
Aden Batar, director of immigration and refugee resettlement for Catholic Community Services of Utah, said the project was a great help to refugees.
“Unfortunately, refugees arriving in Utah have very little access to dental care. Unless you are a pregnant woman or a child, dental care is not covered by Medicaid," Batar said.
"So projects like these are incredibly important. We were very grateful for the opportunity to participate and provide this much-needed service to our refugees.”
The care was offered at Henry Schein Practice Solutions, which develops software for dental practices. The company has a dental clinic on-site where donated care is offered to needy people each week.
Human resources manager Chris Oakeson said local employees also teamed up to donate grocery store gift cards to refugees treated at the clinic over the week.
"It barely took an ask before people were pulling out their credit cards or cash or going to buy gift cards themselves because people care about people here," she said.
