Dentures = Life Changed
Travis is a loving husband, father, and grandfather. He has lived his life putting his loved ones first. With six children to take care of, when it came to dentist appointments, the kid’s health came first. This meant there wasn’t money left over for Travis’ dental care. Over the years his teeth began to have many issues, but without the money to treat his teeth, Travis suffered through it.
He started taking painkillers constantly to manage the pain and then required anti-biotics 3 to 4 times a year to fight the infections that had developed. He started feeling sick constantly due to the medication and tooth infection and often went without eating. The difficulty became so bad, that he was unable to get off the couch. He was so discouraged. “Mentally it (the pain) breaks you down” he shared.
“Mentally it (the pain) breaks you down”-Travis
Travis used to be a truck driver, but the health issues he was experiencing started to cause vertigo, which made driving unsafe – leaving Travis out of work.
A Simple Referral Changes Everything
Finally, a doctor told him about the Free Dental Clinic through Archway Food Bank. For the first time, Travis had hope – he booked an appointment right away. He was happy to find that the dentists volunteer their time and he was able to be assessed and receive basic care for free. The dentists told him that he needed to have 10 teeth removed and would require a full upper denture and a partial lower denture. Over the course of 5 appointments, the 10 problem teeth were removed-free of charge.
After this, his gums needed time to heal. Once Travis’ gums were ready, AJ Vig from Sumas Denture Clinic, our volunteer denturist, was able to create the denture for Travis. While the labour to create the dentures were free of cost, the offsite laboratory had fees to pay. The dentures would normally cost $5,000 at a regular dental office without insurance, but for the Free Dental Clinic, was reduced to $800.
A Little Help From Family Goes a Long Way
Travis’ children (now ages 14-30), knew he still could not afford the nominal expense. So they rallied friends, and family together to help pay for the denture. His children told Travis, “he had always taken care of us, and we wanted to take our turn to help him.”
Since completing his 8 months of treatment, Travis feels like a whole new person. “My health is 10 times better” Travis shared with us. He no longer needs to take pain killers and is able to eat food that used to cause him great pain. “I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me,” he said. “I don’t know what I would have done. This has been such a blessing.”
“I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me. I don’t know what I would have done. This has been such a blessing.” – Travis
Travis now has a smile he is proud to share at his children’s weddings. His wife says he is so much brighter and jokes all the time. We, at the Archway Food Bank Free Dental Clinic, are so glad we could be part of Travis’ story. If you would like more information about our free dental clinic, please click here.