The Campbell Family Foundation became a founding donor to AFC’s dental program in 2015 with a gift of $30,000 to support start-up costs associated with hiring a dentist to work part-time in borrowed space at the Arlington County DHS building. The program has evolved immensely since then, growing to a three-chair dental clinic in our own facility that provides everything from cleanings and fillings to dentures and crowns six days a week. The Campbell Family Foundation has remained a committed and consistent supporter since the beginning.
Unlike AFC’s medical programs in which many volunteers donate time to make care free to patients, our dental program relies primarily on paid staff. This, coupled with high material and lab expenses, results in the need for some costs to flow to patients. With its latest grant to fund the purchase of an intraoral scanner, the Foundation will help lower patient costs for items like crowns, partials, and dentures. The scanner will cut the number and duration of patient appointments in half; eliminate unpleasant procedures such as mold impressions; expedite and reduce the cost (but not quality) of lab work; and open the door for new partnerships with labs using cutting edge technologies — such as 3-D printing — that drive down costs. This will have a direct, positive impact on the health and quality of life of so many AFC patients for whom crowns, partials, and dentures are often out of reach, even with our drastically reduced fees.
We are grateful for the Campbell Family Foundation and its president, Don Campbell, for supporting our dental program from the very beginning.