28 Maine dentists from seven counties are restoring smiles of domestic abuse survivors
Maine dentists have donated $102,000.00 worth of free, dignified and gold-standard procedures for low-income women and child survivors of domestic abuse through “Finding Our Smiles”, according to the statewide nonprofit Finding Our Voices which runs the program.
Twenty-two Maine survivors have gotten their smiles back or are in the process of doing so in the 18-month-old program which also restores health and helps to rebuild lives. The 28 providers include general dentists, orthodontists, prosthodontists, endodontists, and oral surgeons from York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Knox, Waldo, Kennebec, and Hancock counties, as well as dental labs from three states.
“The outpouring of support for our program by Maine’s dental community is astounding,” said McLean. “Dentists are making room for women and child domestic abuse survivors in their full work schedules and often actually thanking us for the opportunity.” McLean said most “Finding Our Smiles” providers also donate dental care through more general programs for low-income Mainers.
McLean said “Finding Our Smiles” is one of the many innovative programs of the grassroots nonprofit “empowering our sister-survivors whose lives, health, and confidence have been shattered by physical, emotional, and financial abuse by the people most supposed to cherish us.”
According to McLean, “Finding Our Smiles” provides cosmetic dental care that helps with job searches and promotions and boosts confidence, in addition to providing critical care for violent assaults including punches and a baseball bat to the mouth. Three survivors in the program, she said, “had rotten teeth because they were ‘not allowed’ to brush them by their pathologically possessive and controlling partners, and it is pretty common for abusers to sabotage their victims’ dental care with such tactics as hiding the car keys when it is time for an appointment.”
McLean said that participating survivors are treated as any other paying patient, with providers often donating whatever services are deemed advisable in the overall treatment plan including Invisalign and braces, implants, and even porcelain veneers.
Four providers “joined hands and hearts” for Christina of Lewiston (who prefers not to publicly reveal her last name) to give her back her smile. Christina’s ex pushed her down a flight of concrete steps, and a hereditary disease resulting in no tooth enamel made fixing her teeth even more daunting.
Dr. Jessica Sikora of Farmingdale, Dr. Bright Chang of Portland, and Dr. Matt Lawler of South Portland contributed thousands of dollars of general dentistry, prosthodontics, and oral surgery respectively, and Northshore Dental Laboratories in Massachusetts donated the lab work.
Mary Kamradt, the operations manager and only full-time paid employee of Finding Our Voices, said that when Christina was accepted into the dental program “she told us she was absolutely terrified, because of shame at the way her teeth looked, and also anticipating the pain of treatment. “I told her we are here to support her through the entire process. After I drove down to Portland to be with her for the extractions, we grabbed each other for a hug and she told me ‘I am so scared, and I am so grateful you are here.’”
Christina reported that her “Finding Our Smiles” dentists were “soooo kind, and nice, and caring, and they made me feel so much better about dentists in general.” Seven months later when Kamradt stopped by Dr. Chang’s office to see Christina at her final appointment, “she ran into my arms crying and told me she loved me, and I cried seeing her beautiful smile.”
“Finding Our Smiles” patient Amanda Vogel credits the office of Dr. Shanna Gagnon and Finding Our Smiles for “my new full-time job with health care benefits, including dental insurance!”
The Augusta oral surgeon Dr. Rob Berube is a dental advisor to Finding Our Smiles along with Dr. David Pier of Mount Pleasant and North Pond dental offices in West Rockport and Warren.
Dr. Berube said, “It has been an honor working with Finding Our Voices to provide pro bono surgical services for patients desperately needing care along with caring and generous colleagues from around Maine. They have developed a network of providers who share their mission for compassionate care in support of providing a path forward and new opportunities for survivors of domestic abuse. It is my hope that more of my colleagues will join me in this meaningful effort to bring smiles to those who need to smile the most.”
Finding Our Voices mitigates the isolation, stigma, and financial abuse that keep women and children trapped in domestic abuse. Its other programs include a groundbreaking poster campaign featuring the photo portraits of 45 Maine survivors including Governor Janet T. Mills, financial assistance and online support groups. It’s 2024 “Let’s Talk About It” tour includes stops at the Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Harbor, the Maine Irish Heritage Center in Portland, community colleges, universities and high schools, and with the Seacost Mission in June, the islands of Matinicus, Isle au Haut, and Frenchboro. For more information visit https://findingourvoices.net/.
