DESERT FRIENDS OF THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED TO OPEN FREE DENTAL CLINIC IN MID-JULY
DESERT FRIENDS OF THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED TO OPEN FREE DENTAL CLINIC IN MID JULY Services at the We Care Dental Center will be provided by dentists who donate their time and expertise, using supplies that have been paid for with
DESERT FRIENDS OF THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED TO OPEN FREE DENTAL CLINIC IN MID-JULY
Services at the We Care Dental Center will be provided by dentists who donate their time and expertise, using supplies that have been paid for with donations from local residents as well as grant funds from Delta Dental
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. June 21, 2011 Desert Friends of the Developmentally Disabled will open a dental clinic in mid-July that will provide free dental services to developmentally disabled children and adults.
³We already have a waiting list of nearly 100 people from throughout Riverside and San Bernardino counties who are in desperate need of dental care,² said Marianne Benson, co-founder of the Rancho Mirage-based non profit group.
The clinic will be behind the Rancho Las Palmas Shopping Center in an office building at 42-900 Bob Hope Drive, Suite 111.
Desert Friends of the Developmentally Disabled signed a three-year lease on the 1,200 square foot office, which is being renovated right now in preparation for a mid-July opening. ³We¹ll start off with two dental chairs, but we will eventually expand to four,² Benson said.
California has 240,000 disabled children and adults, 24,000 of whom reside in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. About 1,500 of them live in the Coachella Valley.
³Adults over 21 have lost most of their medical and dental healthcare benefits as a result of state budget cuts during the past three years,² Benson said. ³We¹re trying to help them by providing dental care, though we hope to eventually provide other healthcare services as we recruit more volunteers.²
While disabled children still have their medical and dental benefits, it is very difficult to find dentists willing to work on them, Benson said, adding that Desert Friends of the Developmentally Disabled has initially focused on providing free dental services, since state statistics indicate that 88 percent of disabled children and adults have unmet dental needs.
State lawmakers have eliminated numerous medical and dental services for developmentally disabled adults, including all dental services, speech therapy services, podiatric services, audiology services, chiropractic services, acupuncture services, optometric and optician services, psychological services as well as incontinence creams and washes. Lawmakers have also proposed cutting additional services for developmentally disabled adults this year in an effort to reduce the state budget deficit.
³All of this is happening,² Benson said, ³because this is a population that cannot speak up for themselves. So their services are among the first to be cut.² For more information about Desert Friends of the Developmentally Disabled or to add your name to a waiting for an appointment, please contact Marianne Benson at (760) 832-6555 or dfddnow@me.com and visit the organization¹s website at www.dfddnow.org.
