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Delta Dental of Arkansas is providing leadership, volunteer and financial support for Operation Stand Down, a day of free dental care for eligible Arkansas veterans on November 3rd.
Two company executives and five current or former board members are among the dentists planning and volunteering at the event. The Delta Dental Foundation of Arkansas serves as the lead financial sponsor with a $15,000 grant for dental supplies to be shared among participating dental clinics.
Now in its second year in Arkansas, Operation Stand Down will be hosted by the Arkansas International College of Dentistry and coordinated by the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs at six locations: Fort Smith, Fayetteville, Jonesboro, Little Rock, Pine Bluff and Arkadelphia.
Veterans should request an appointment for dental care services by emailing Gina Chandler at the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs at gina.chandler@arkansas.gov or by calling (501) 682-6487. For verification purposes a DD214 will be required to certify the discharge documents.
Veterans will be assigned an appointment time at the regional clinic closest to their location. Appointments will be made on a first-come, first-served basis. Priority will be given to acute or urgent treatments. No walk-ins will be accepted on the day of Operation Stand Down.
In Arkansas, Dr. Niki Carter, dental director at Delta Dental of Arkansas, and R. Dr. Mark Bailey of Waldron, a Delta Dental of Arkansas board member, is leading the statewide effort to organize Operation Stand Down. They will also join about 50 other dentists from across the state who have volunteered to treat patients or provide clinical support.
Organized by the International College of Dentistry, Operation Stand Down was started in 2012 by an Indiana dentist and Air Force veteran who sought a scalable solution to the neglected oral health he observed among former patients of his military. Since then, the event has expanded to many states. Volunteer dentists provide free dental care to eligible veterans on a specific day, usually on or around Veterans Day.
