Dental program for Lake County veterans gets grant

A Lake County program providing free dental care to needy military veterans is getting a $50,000 boost.

The windfall comes as a grant from the Healthcare Foundation of Northern Lake County, an organization formed in 2006 following the sale of St. Therese Medical center and Victory Memorial Hospital, both of Waukegan, to Community Health Systems. They are now the Vista hospitals in that city.

The foundation particularly supports efforts to improve access to health services for uninsured or underinsured people.

The county's Veterans Assistance Commission has provided dental services to needy veterans for several years.

“You talk about the greatest generation, but we've got guys out there who can't eat solid food because they've got bad teeth,” commission Superintendent Mike Peck said Tuesday.

The new funding is in addition to a $50,000 grant the commission received from the state last year. It will allow the agency to expand services to more veterans.

Thirty-three Lake County veterans received dental services through the program in 2010, officials said. That figure was lower than 2009's total of 116 veterans who got treatment because the services needed were more extensive and expensive, a commission representative reported.

Dental treatments are provided through the county's public health department. Veterans in need of more complex services, such as root canal procedures, are referred to local private dentists.

Some treatments can cost $3,000 or $4,000, Peck said.

“Implants and extractions can really run you,” he said.

The county board's health and community services committee agreed to accept the grant Tuesday without discussion. The full board could take similar action Tuesday, Jan. 11.

To qualify for free dental service, a veteran must have received an honorable discharge and be receiving help from the Illinois Department of Human Servies, such as food stamps or medical assistance.

Combat experience is not a factor, nor is the veteran's branch of service or age.

If you're a veteran living in Lake County who needs dental care, call the commission at (847) 377-3344.