Dental faculty and students perform procedure on a veteran.A.T. Still University
Dr. Herbert Silva, an assistant professor and director of the MOSDOH Smiles for Veterans program, understands the importance of service. A Vietnam veteran who flew close air support missions for Allied Forces and the Marines in 1970, Silva has found a new way to "pay it forward" decades after his military service ended.
A Program Born from Shared Service
Dr. Herbert Silva,
"Hey, do you have any veterans around here?" Silva recalled asking. "Wouldn't it be cool if we came with veteran faculty and veteran students to treat some of your veterans?"
That simple exchange launched what has become a comprehensive program serving hundreds of veterans across Missouri. Starting with just five male veterans in 2016 who needed full extractions, the program has grown exponentially. The first denture deliveries occurred in 2017, and Silva secured an initial $10,000 grant from the university president after making his case in a letter.
"I wrote a letter to the president of the university and said, 'Hey, this is terrific. You're serving your mission, you're serving the needy, and we've done this, and this is fabulous. Now what?'" Silva said in an interview. The president, he said with a chuckle, "basically told me to put up or shut up."
