Salt Lake Donated Dental Services

HISTORY

Programs

History

In 1990 Salt Lake City dentist, Dr. Ralph Montgomery, recognized that access to oral health care for the disadvantaged within our own community was nearly nonexistent. Many of the poorest and most destitute were forced to go without needed dental treatment. Often, as a last resort, restorable teeth were extracted because there were simply no other options available. As a result, Dr. Montgomery founded Salt Lake Donated Dental Services (SLDDS). He believed then, as he does now, that a healthy smile should not be limited to those with financial means. With community commitment, he believed those with no other access to dental services could receive sorely needed, quality dental care.

The need for safety-net dental care providers in our community is tremendous. The U.S. Census Bureau reports 97,845 individuals living below the poverty level in Salt Lake County alone. Untreated dental decay will not resolve itself and there is no medication that reverses the effects of decay. Neglected oral disease leads to many other problems, an increase in cardiovascular disease, complications associated with diabetes, increased hospitalizations for life threatening infections, low-weight births, to name just a few. Oral disease can be particularly insidious for its victims in other ways- ultimately undermining one’s self image, discouraging normal social interaction, and eventually leading to depression (Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General).

SLDDS’ primary goal is to make quality preventative and restorative dental treatment accessible to our community’s underserved. The clinic’s programs include: emergency care, preventative and periodontal maintenance, restorative care (fillings, crowns, bridges), and an extensive denture and partial program. Our volunteer dental professionals work five days a week, seeing an average of 20 patients a day. Patients are given the same options they might have if seeing a dentist in a private practice but because of ongoing community support, SLDDS is able to provide most of our services at no cost to the patient.