For the 10th year in a row, a local dentist offered her entire day of work to donate free dental services for veterans from her office in Los Alamitos.
Los Al dentist Dr. Seza Barsamian began the practice 10 years ago, offering a variety of free dental exams and other services free of charge to veterans in celebration of Veterans Day.
This year, on Thursday, Nov. 9, 22 retired veterans from Seal Beach, Leisure World, Los Alamitos, Cypress, Buena Park, Stanton, Long Beach, and Newport Beach had appointments at Dr Barsamian’s Dental office in Los Alamitos, her office said in a statement.
No Veteran was turned away, whoever called got an appointment,” the statement said.
The staff said a few veteran patients of the patients treated this year have been coming to the event for the past 10 years and a few were new veterans who showed up this year. “Some of the veterans recently moved to these cities,” they said noting that “a couple of them never had a dental cleaning in over 20 years.”
All veterans treated received comprehensive exams, X-rays and dental cleaning, they said.
For the 10th year, Los Alamitos dentist Seza Barsamian, D.D.S., has donated her entire work day again to give retired veterans free dental care.
“Retired veterans have limited access to dental care through the Veterans Affairs. This was the only opportunity for some to have their mouth checked and their teeth cleaned,” according to Dr. Barsamian. “Only about 8% of veterans enrolled in the VA healthcare system qualify for dental benefits through specific eligibility requirements,” she said.
“This leaves a huge percentage of our veterans unable to afford quality dental care, which can lead to pain, significant periodontal disease, and other health issues and since the mouth is the mirror of our body, most diseases manifest orally before being detected systematically. We love our country veterans, and when there is love, there is always an opportunity to serve,” she said.
Dr. Barsamian’s office said she has performed more than 100 complimentary dental cleanings for veterans over the last ten years, worth over $8,000 in free services to vets.