Founded by retired Issaquah periodontist Dr. Theresa Cheng, Everyone For Veterans (E4V) connects veterans with “wingmen” — volunteers at veterans’ sides, including dentists — who treat veterans at no charge. E4V has more than 500 dentists, plus dozens of specialists and dental labs across the United States, who have provided volunteer services to low-income veterans. Of those, 266 are in the state of Washington. The group also connects individuals and businesses with vets in need of other free services or goods. 

INSPIRED BY SERVICE  

Dr. Cheng said she was inspired in 2008 after reading about a local soldier who had suffered grave injuries in Fallujah, Iraq.  

“I really identified with the mother whose life was turned upside down by caring for her son,” she tells ADA News. “Being naive about veteran issues, we decided as an office to give back to family members with free dental care, thinking that veterans get dental care from the VA.”  

According to the U.S. Veterans Administration, only 8% of veterans receive dental benefits. They have to be designated with 100-percent service-connected disability, so most do not have dental benefits. They can buy a dental plan through the VA, but for the low-income veterans, they cannot afford it, nor pay for co-pays of treatment, according to Dr. Cheng.   

To qualify for the E4V program, veterans must meet three requirements:  

• Have been deployed to combat/imminent danger areas  
• Qualify as low income  
• Do not have dental benefits from the VA  

Spouses of veterans who meet those requirements and victims of military sexual trauma are also eligible.  

“These low-income veterans are hardworking, working full-time jobs at what they can, often in low-paying jobs with limited or no benefits,” says Dr. Cheng. “They raised their families and had a lifetime of sporadic urgent care for their dental needs. They could never catch up with their dental care to have a healthy mouth. For the veterans who’ve survived being in harm’s way, we felt that it is not right that they have to endure a lifetime of dental disease. We decided that at least for the veterans who have returned from combat areas and are low-income, we would provide comprehensive care.”  

“When we provide dental care, we are not just fixing their teeth, we touch their souls and they in return touch ours. We represent the love of their community,” she adds. 

“THE MOST AMERICAN THING THAT I CAN DO”

Snohomish dentist Dr. Nhi Pham has been an amazing supporter of combat veterans through her involvement with E4V. Having been a refugee from Vietnam, honoring and helping U.S. combat veterans is a very important part of her life.  

“It’s very personal for me,” she says. “My family came to the states in 1975. We emigrated from Vietnam after the war, and I cherish being an American. I feel the most American thing that I can do is to serve others, and to especially serve those that have served.” 

With her long history of reaching out and making veterans whole, she has great understanding and empathy for their challenges. One of the veterans Dr. Pham served was Robert, a Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan and needed root planing, extractions, fillings and crowns. He was in Afghanistan for three years and seven months as an Aviation Ordnance, which means he dealt with munitions and assembled everything on the ship’s flight deck. Returning stateside, he is learning to live with challenges of PTSD and reintegration within society. His wife noticed he was “different.” He works here and there as a plumber and reports that his work and his two daughters help keep his mind off those challenges. 

“His visit did a lot for my spirit,” Dr. Pham says. “He’s always so willing to do muscle poses with me. Dr. Cheng has really created something amazing through E4V and I am thankful for the healing it’s provided for my own heart.” 

The dental work provided by Dr. Pham and her staff definitely helped lift Robert’s spirits in the midst of his ongoing challenges. And he is just one of hundreds of veterans Dr. Pham and other area dentists help out each year.


^{Dr. Pham and Robert, a Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan and now receives dental care through E4V.} 

GET INVOLVED

Volunteer dentists are essential to the continued success of Everyone for Veterans. To learn more about E4V or to register as a dentist interested in the program, visit  
www.everyoneforveterans.org/dentists or contact Dr. Cheng directly at drcheng@everyoneforveterans.org.

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This article originally appeared in the Fall 2021 issue of WSDA News.