How to change a life

When you think of something as life-saving, or life-changing, we often think of big, expansive moments. It can be easy to forget that small moments and kindnesses can also be life-changing.

Living a life in pain is frustrating, exhausting and stressful. This is true for the person in pain as well as their family and friends. Watching someone struggle is heartbreaking. Imagine if it was your child in pain, you would absolutely do everything you could to help them. But sometimes, there are too many barriers.

Here is a story we often hear:

Anna wanted to go to the dentist. Her teeth hurt, there were dark colors on them, and at 7-years old she knew younger kids who went to the dentist and had bright smiles. Her parents knew she was in pain, but with Medicaid as their insurance, they couldn’t find care. That meant Anna never had a first visit to the dentist like other kids.

One day, OHP came to Anna’s school and she was able to see a dentist. She received an exam, a cleaning, and a toothbrush and toothpaste of her own. The delay in dental care meant Anna needed several fillings and treatment at OHP’s clinic setting.

Today Anna is smiling her bright, pain-free smile, just like the other kids in her school. It doesn’t hurt when she eats and she doesn’t hide her teeth when she smiles.

Children ages 2-5 in low-income households have untreated cavities at three times the rate of higher-income households. For teenagers, this number is twice as high.

How you can help

Anna’s story isn’t new to us. Neither is it new when parents and guardians tell us that their child no longer cries when they eat or the joy they get in seeing their child’s smile again. We’re told that we’ve given them their lives back, and we get thanked for the life-saving procedures we’d done. By helping kids get back their pain-free lives, we set them and their families free from all that stress and exhaustion and let them get back to life.

But we couldn’t do any of it without you. 

Your donations support our work so we can help underserved children like Anna see a dentist early in life. Your gift provides dental visits to schools, equipment and supplies to deliver care, toothbrushes and toothpaste for kids, and education.

Your donation changes lives.

As we roll into this holiday season and take time to be grateful for this year’s blessings, please consider taking a moment to change a life. Visit our Give page, just $25 helps us buy toothbrushes for 50 kids that might not have one of their own. Your gift directly affects the lives of Brown County kids and their families. And that’s something to be thankful for!