Samantha Nelson

USA TODAY

Veterans interested must make an appointment by calling 1-844-ASPEN-HMM

Veterans will have access to free dental services June 25 thanks to the Healthy Mouth Movement.

Nearly 400 Aspen Dental locations will offer complete dental services to veterans at no charge.

Although the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides health care to veterans, full dental care coverage is limited. According to the VA’s website, only veterans who have a service-related dental disability or condition, are former prisoners of war, or are rated by the VA as 100% disabled can receive any needed dental care. Also, fewer than 10 million veterans are VA-enrolled.

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“I know how hard it is for [veterans] to receive dental care,” said Melissa Thompson, a dentist who works at four Aspen Dental offices just north of Boston, the movement has a special meaning to her. Thompson is also a veteran, having served in the Massachusetts National Guard for seven years, during which she was still a dental student.

Staff members volunteer to work on this day each year.

Thompson said the locations participating in the Healthy Mouth Movement treated about 3,500 patients last year, and this year expect to see about 6,000 patients.

The common dental issues Thompson sees among veterans who visit her are broken teeth or conditions that suffer from a lack of nutrition.

One of the veterans who Thompson treated is Stephen Leon, a Boston area resident who served in the military for 27 years. Leon received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan in 2011, where he stopped attackers from breaking into his camp’s barracks.

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Leon experienced pain and discomfort with smiling before he met Thompson. He received free scaling and root canal procedures at a time when he couldn’t afford to buy mouthwash.

“I don’t even know how to start to thank this woman,” Leon said.

The Healthy Mouth Movement is partnered with Got Your 6, a non-profit campaign that aims to correct perceptions of veterans and help veterans to become functioning leaders in their communities.

According to Bill Rausch, the executive director of Got Your 6 and an Iraqi War veteran, the campaign works to combat this perception by working with media to correct portrayals of veterans and by partnering with other organizations to empower veterans.

“There’s nothing more empowering than seeing a veteran or meeting a veteran who can leave their house for the first time […] because of Aspen Dental,” Rausch said.