Patient Stories
Jimmy’s Story
Jimmy’s children were worried. Their father, who had always weighed more
than 200 pounds, was down to 140.
His doctors at the VA had run extensive tests and were stumped at what was
causing the problem. They began to check the condition of his teeth.
They realized his teeth were in such bad shape that he wasn’t able to eat
properly.
“Some of them were hurting. I pulled some of them out myself. Just
moved them around a lot and pulled them out,” said Jimmy Sullivan, age 80.
Jimmy and his wife lived on a fixed income from Social Security and a VA
benefit. Jimmy didn’t have any dental insurance and his children knew he
couldn’t afford a regular dentist. His son told his dentist, Dr. Aaron
Payne, about his dad’s teeth and his parents’ financial situation. Dr.
Payne suggested they give the Interfaith Dental Clinic a call.
At Interfaith the dentist did a comprehensive exam and found that most of
Jimmy’s teeth were rotted at the gum-line and loose. The dentist extracted
two and, through Vanderbilt’s collaboration with Interfaith, an oral surgeon was
able to sedate Jimmy and extract 18 teeth.
“That doctor was really good. He was able to get the ones out I couldn’t,”
said Jimmy.
The clinic then fitted Jimmy with upper and lower dentures. This treatment
would have cost almost $5,000 in private practice. Through Interfaith’s
sliding fee scale program, Jimmy and his family only had to pay a little more
than $1,000 over a year’s time.
His daughter-in-law, Kathy, said Jimmy grins all the time now and has began to
put on a little weight. Jimmy says he is hoping to gain more. “I
believe I can eat better now.”
Jimmy’s wife likes his teeth too. “After his last appointment he came home
clicking those teeth,” says Kathy, “and his wife said ‘I believe I’ll kiss you!”