Mary E. Martin, DDS
When Dr. Mary Martin noticed an article written by a feminine dentist on battered girls and oral well being again in 1995, it sparked an thought and a ardour that might change the lives of tons of of girls throughout the nation. Martin and two different feminine dentists sprang into motion, creating a pilot program for members of the Affiliation of American Ladies Dentists (AAWD) to assist girls in disaster obtain dental care — and the Smiles for Success (SFS) Basis was born.
This system continued in varied varieties for 20 years, till in 2017 Martin joined the board and shortly after grew to become President, taking the group in a complete new path. She established the Smiles for Success Basis as a 501c3 nonprofit and labored exhausting to safe grant funding to make sure that this system could be not solely impactful, however sustainable. Smiles for Success is predicated in Pensacola, Florida, however has expanded to incorporate collaborating dentists in Boston, New York Metropolis, Abilene and Austin, Texas, Philadelphia, Denver and Baltimore.
Much more impressively, Martin’s efforts are a ardour mission — she presently works as a dentist at Caring Arms in McCallister, Oklahoma.
As we speak, we’re proud to honor Martin as a 2022 DentaQuest Well being Fairness Hero. Right here, she displays on her work and why it’s extra necessary as we speak than ever.
Smiles for Success has a protracted historical past, however in some ways is beginning recent. What units you aside?
Although we’ve been right here since 1995, we’re principally a brand new group. During the last 4 to 5 years we rebranded, took this system from dental colleges and returned it to non-public practitioners for professional bono care, grew to become a 501c3 nonprofit and started constructing a brand new neighborhood of suppliers. We’ve actually centered on one of the best ways to supply free, accessible oral well being take care of battered girls, girls on welfare, in drug rehab or out of jail.
One factor that units our program aside is that there are many locations the place individuals can get their care totally free, however they get one factor performed and that’s it. Some applications solely pay for fillings and extractions, not crowns or root canals. However at Smiles for Success, we offer full care to the affected person. We’re going to ensure she has a wholesome, fairly smile to exit into the general public.
Why is entry to oral well being care so necessary for this inhabitants particularly?
Oral well being is instantly related to total well being in so some ways, however it’s too usually neglected — particularly amongst teams which can be marginalized and susceptible. To qualify for dental providers with the Smiles for Success, the girl should be in a neighborhood program, work examine program, or for these beforehand incarcerated, in a midway home.
These are girls who’re making an attempt to rebuild their lives and begin recent, and we all know that an individual’s oral well being has a direct influence on all the things from their employment prospects to psychological well being and confidence.
How have you ever seen individuals’s lives modified by Smiles for Success?
It’s wonderful to see the transformation in our sufferers. They virtually at all times cry after they’re performed. They cease overlaying their mouths. They stand taller. They usually get to take that brighter smile and more healthy mouth with them daily going ahead. That’s why I wished to construct this program again. That’s why I have been so passionate, as a result of it actually makes a distinction.
In recognition of Martin’s expertise as a Well being Fairness Hero, she and Gonzalo Perez, supervisor of the DentaQuest case administration and outreach program, have been just lately interviewed and featured within the Pensacola Information Journal.
Perez applauded Martin’s capability to be a “disruptor” throughout the well being care system and mentioned, “She had the imaginative and prescient and the readability to create a program, Smiles for Success, to cater to a really particular inhabitants that has been traditionally underserved, perhaps even left behind, by the healthcare system.”
When requested about what being named a DentaQuest Well being Fairness Hero meant to her, Martin expressed to the Journal:
“I used to be thrilled and I used to be honored. It thrilled me to know that I used to be going to get the chance to showcase Smiles for Success … I wished to get the title on the market. I am at all times making an attempt to inform individuals about it. It actually makes me joyful that DentaQuest — they’re recognizing the significance of entry to care and making an attempt to get it on the market to individuals. I imply, so many individuals are underserved and we’re simply making an attempt to assist, and DentaQuest helps, additionally.”
Click on right here to learn extra about DentaQuest’s 2022 Well being Fairness Heroes.
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