Michael O’Connor has spent his career advocating for affordable veteran dental care on behalf of his father, who fought in World War II. His father received healthcare from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which allowed him to receive emergency care when he had a heart attack. O’Connor’s father dealt with many medical issues, all while having no teeth because he was unable to obtain dental care. 

“He got all of this expensive care that kept him alive, but he couldn’t get teeth,” O’Connor, the executive vice dean at NYU’s College of Dentistry, said. “He represents a lot of veterans who are in similar situations.”

NYU Dentistry partnered with Veterans Affairs and the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System on July 1 to increase veteran dental care across New York City through the Veterans Oral Care Access Resource, or VOCARE, a part of the VETSmile pilot program. O’Connor said that because Veterans Affairs is underfunded, the program relies on the participation of dental colleges and Federally Qualified Health Centers. 

VETSmile is authorized by the VA MISSION Act of 2018, a congressional bill allowing the VA to create five-year pilot programs to refer ineligible veterans to private organizations in the community for free or discounted dental care. 

While over 9 million veterans are enrolled in the Veterans Affairs healthcare system, only 1.4 million are eligible for dental care due to budget constraints, current health conditions, living situations and military service history. As a result, many veterans may experience severe dental problems, which can lead to malnutrition, physical pain, infection, low self-esteem and employment discrimination. More than 2 million emergency room visits by veterans are a result of poor oral health.

Martina Parauda, the director of VA New York Harbor Healthcare System, officially launched the partnership at an NYU Dentistry event on Nov. 8. 

“One of the biggest complaints I would get as medical center director is ‘How come I can’t get my teeth fixed?’” Parauda said. “We don’t just refer. We want to know, ‘OK, what happened to that veteran?’”

NYU Dentistry intends to treat around 1,500 patients in one year and increase referrals to reach 5,000 clinic visits. VOCARE dentist Brian Eng added that in order to increase accessibility, the NYU Dentistry Oral Health Center for People with Disabilities, a specialized clinic within the program, has specially trained staff who will treat veterans with disabilities or a history of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Roshni Ghosh, the acting executive director for the Veterans Health Administration Center for Care and Payment Innovation, said one of the biggest advantages of collaborating with NYU is its commitment to providing lifelong healthcare to veterans.

“NYU has been more than generous in their support to our veterans,” Ghosh said. “They’ve embedded the mission of access to affordable care into their curriculum and they’re standing behind the tenet that the inability to pay should in no way preclude access to high-quality care.”

Contact Vinith Yedidi at [email protected].