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Veteran Bursts into Tears When Dentist Sees His Teeth and Gives $15K of Work For Free.
A chance meeting at the gym changed retired Air Force Staff Sergeant David Tyler Harmon’s life for the better.
It all started when he met Dr. David Nguyen during a workout and learned that David was a dentist. The Air Force veteran decided to book an appointment with him for a teeth cleaning – but when it was time for the examination, Dr. Nguyen took one look at the veteran’s teeth and was shocked.
“I came in for a cleaning, and he’s like, ‘My goodness!’ And I start telling him all the pain I’m in,” the sergeant recalled.
Nguyen said: “There was infection in his gum tissue, a lot of cracked teeth everywhere, a lot of crowding, a lot of grinding problems.”
The dental problems were made even more severe by head trauma David received during multiple tours on active duty. And the cost to fix those problems was greater than expected — about $15,000.
“I overheard him saying something about sending the paperwork to the VA,” said Dr. Nguyen. “I was like, ‘Wait, if he were to wait for the VA, it would take months.’”
They didn’t have that long.
“I saw infection,” Dr. Nguyen explained. “I said, ‘Listen, you need to get this handled right away.’”
That’s when Dr. Nguyen offered to do David’s dental work entirely free of charge.
David, being understandably overwhelmed, broke down into tears.
Akillesursinne
Good thing about living with free dental up untill the age of 18 and then cheap after that.. But good for the sergeant!
lupine1990
GemsAreOutrageousTrulyTrulyTrulyOutrageous
Oof... Scares me shitless about the amount of work/cost of it for my teeth issues... And I'm no vet or have benefits... ._.
CorneliusCornwall
2fligh2high
GrunticusrulerofRelmz
Everything is fishy about this. Retired as a Staff Sgt? Three TBIs? Teeth fixed upon enlistment. If retired medically everything that can >
GrunticusrulerofRelmz
be fixed is done. He looks way too young to have put in twenty years. I ain’t buying it.
kylefromterminator
we all need teeth and even if you brush and floss every day you'll still get cavities and sometimes chip/crack a tooth, needs to be free
fartiestgirlever
HEXADECIMAL
I don't understand how the US treats it's veterans and expects to win any future wars. This seems like treason, it's damaging the country.
Bigbeardandweird
It's a job. They join. Get paid. And recieve benefits even after. They're choice. God bless America
EricAirheart
As a Vet, I hate the VA. I have been waiting close to 2 months for my doc to send a refill on my antidepressants and nerve meds.
Fistytheclown
First pic looks like Tom Waits.
moon35man2000
usernamegoeshere123
every time i see a veteran with combat injuries left unchecked i want to hang every politician in the country for treason.
SanctuaryIsALie
Yeah, I gotta call Bullshit on this. "head trauma David received during multiple tours on active duty." What? Nope nope nope.
DoublevBomb
You may want to elaborate as to why you're saying nope, if there's some kind of specific reason.
xizar
I've got a shattered tooth from dental work done in the navy. VA refused to do anything to fix it. So I live with it.
IAlwaysUpvoteSexy
And here my dentist freaks out about an enamel defect I've had for years. But a shattered tooth? Yeah, that's just fine. Not a problem.
xizar
Problem is VA gives me full medical (good problem there) but refuses to do dental until it kills me (bad problem there).
EphemeralEternity
Atilla the Hun might’ve been many terrible things. But the man treated his warriors exceedingly well. A shame the USA is lacking in this.
UnknownSquid
There's always the option of offering it to all citizens as standard. An honourable warrior deserves to live in a nation with nice teeth.
iHighjinx
So I don't want to be a bummer, but you can't retire as a staff sergeant in the Air Force Source: I'm in the Air Force.
Surisuule
Sure you can, medically retire.
abundantbadgers
Oh shit, I think know David Nguyen from college! Good on him. :)
ourari
No source, no upvote.
johnson21
that too.
ImKimJongUnAndEverythingIsFine
Www.stuffandjunkthathappenedjustgowithit.com/dumpsterfile/
MatrimBloodyCauthon
Looks legit guys
Dedeurmetdebaard
No way $15K is the real value of the service.
TheManInTheWall
Medicine is big business. They can afford to inflate prices because people only have one alternative
Dedeurmetdebaard
That was my point. I don't think people understood this is where I was getting at, hence the downvotes.
SmolTenk
Supply and demand. It should be mentioned though that medical equipment is also expensive as fuck, so doctors have to make that money too.
deadandbloated
Worth noting that medical equipment is also ridiculously price inflated (because of artificial monopolies, usually)
SmolTenk
No question there. Its easy when the customer has no choice but to buy the product.
GaelicandUnpronounceable
Plot twist: NHS dentist in the UK
TheManInTheWall
Still have to pay for dental care in the UK onxe you're out of full time education
Nilhlis
I have 3 months to convince my dentist to put braces on me. After these 3 months are up ill have to pay
gingerqueenofdarkness
If you're in the UK it will be judged on the severity of need, unfortunately its not about convincing the dentist
Nilhlis
My bottom set of teeth are fucked up and top left have grown over each other. Top right is fine tho
PrettyFlyForASciGuy
True. But it would be a tiny tiny fraction of this cost as all dental treatment in The UK is heavily subsidised by The NHS regardless
HandyHarry
Just had a root canal today. My part after my insurance was $200. But my insurance is covering $1200 of it
PrettyFlyForASciGuy
I just moved UK>US so stuff like this is good to know. A root canal in The UK costs £56 or $74
bigpeeler
$15,000 worth of dental work? So he filled a cavity, then.
mattsall
Cheap advertising for the dentist
UnknownSquid
Reading this story from a non-American perspective be like...
>_>;
tlw65
Had dental care in the military.... people in the military ignore thier dentalhygiene just as much as non military. They just had to go.
CmdrRenHoek
They do this so you can be identified by dental records.
Zandrake
My last unit would write up people who failed to do regular dental checkups because it was that much of a problem.
SquirrellyWhirly
One of my friends is a US Army dentist & she said she starts appointments with "How often do you brush?" & VERY often hears "Once a week".
Morgan96
Does she have...stories to share?
BilldeTurlock
had no dental work besides emergency extractions for 25 yr after disch. PTSD got in the way, and dentist/needle fear.
VInTheSkyWithElephants
My SO saw a dentist after he got out and they had to re-do all the work he got done while in because it was so messed up
Randersuarus
Mine too!
WhoYouGonnaCallGhostNappa
Yeah, especially in basic where they just hack people's wisdom teeth out and give no after care
ThanksIGotItOnSale
I had 7 cavities that the USAF refused to admit I had. Got them filled within 4 months of getting out.
Randersuarus
My husband had about 10 cavities done while in the USMC. He has to get them all redone this year cause it wasn't done right/:
DoublevBomb
Bad teeth are one of the first things I notice on a person, and never stop noticing. I'm always wondering why in each case.
Strshns
And believe me when I say, if I could have nice teeth I would. I take great care of them, but my body doesn't care. It's mortifying.
Strshns
We know you're judging us, and are usually very self conscious about it and wish we'd won the genetic lottery. Dental work is so expensive.
DoublevBomb
That's why I don't judge, so much as just wonder. Laziness is one thing, affordability is another, side effects of meds, etc, etc.
DoublevBomb
I'm in the "no fucking excuse" camp myself, so it my curiosity is raised when I see another friend who very much, but uh...hunh...
Strshns
I tend to ignore it unless it looks like gross negligence, such as someone who you can tell just doesn't brush. Which is definitely lazy.
DoublevBomb
Sometimes it's more of a pattern, like what looks like acid wear or actual grind, and I really have to wonder. Glad I got braces, oh man.
coolcatgray
The Dr. I work for does this every couple months. They're called "Smile makeovers" and she selects someone in need at random. The guy we 1/2
coolcatgray
Worked on this past week had such bad teeth we extracted almost all of them and put in an immediate denture. When he originally told us 2/3
coolcatgray
His story he said he just wanted to smile at his newborn daughter without her crying but he would never have the money to fix it himself 3/4
coolcatgray
The next day he brought in half dozen roses for us and apologized it wasn't that many but he bought as many as he could for us as thanks :')
DoublevBomb
Even in highly developed countries, dentures are an improvement on many sets of people's teeth.
Janusha
When I see these tear jerking acts of generosity in the US, all im thinking is... In civilized countries, healthcare is free. Fix your shit!
chrishallett83
Quit voting for Republicans, they keep gutting the VA.
DoublevBomb
People can have half their family in the military and they'll still vote for them because of wedge issues, feelings > facts & other shit.
chrishallett83
Yep! Just like in Alabama, where actual Christian ministers are publically supporting Roy Moore because at least he's not a Democrat.
DoublevBomb
Well they're Christian, that's to be expected. They're supposed to care about human lives but they really don't, classic religiousity.
chrishallett83
Nuh-uh, you can't trust anyone who doesn't constantly state they're a Christian and make a big show of going to church as often as possible.
DoublevBomb
"The pastor said that God told him that Steve is bad. He told us to kill Steve, and we're doing it because we believe anything we're told."
brownsugga
I love hearing the stories where our veterans are taken care of.
jump4jesus
It was probably like two things
carn37lake
I'm more bothered that the people that sent them into harms way weren't the ones to help them when he needed it.
Pseudosim
Sadly, he aint no senators son. Also the VA needs to be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up. Massive corruption in incomptenace.
thewyrm
Same...I just really wish it was our government stepping up to the plate to do so.
QuamvisSintSubAqua
I hate hearing stories about social systems that don't work for the people. But even here only basic dental health is included, ... 1>
QuamvisSintSubAqua
>2 and this means extractions, amalgam fillings, "necessary" anaesthetic, but no ceramics, bridges, dental hygienics, ...
Totallyscrewedinaustin
I'm sorry, but did this retired military member not have Tricare? Does that not cover them for the rest of their life?
deathnotejustice
jaxto
you lose tricare after you separate.
Totallyscrewedinaustin
Not if you retire.
WhoYouGonnaCallGhostNappa
No it doesnt
DoMeLikeLenny
doesn't cover everything, bit by a dog, then an artery snipped by the an urgent care doctor, then rushed to the emergency room, I got bills
ProxyPhox
ThatPersonThatYouThinkYouMayKnowButProbablyDoNot
Dental and vision is different, as it is with many health insurance companies.
ehnayehn
My husband is active duty & they won't even do bi-annual cleanings because they're undermanned & won't refer out bc they look bad if they do
CreepyPhlox
Yeeeah, that part of the story doesn't sound right to me.
caledric
Tri-care is a fucking joke... and lol about the VA taking months. That's optimistic right there. I waited 7 years to get an appointment...
caledric
to see a psych about my PTSD... 3 years and a diagnosis later I'm still waiting to hear back on receiving disability for it.
defenestrater
hahaha no. healthcare for life went away years ago. If he separated he'd only get VA coverage for service-related problems
Totallyscrewedinaustin
My brother-in-law is still covered by Tricare. He's been out for 3 years now
defenestrater
I'm medically retired so I get Tricare, and I think they offer full price insurance now as well. I pay about 1/3 what you do for coverage.
VInTheSkyWithElephants
It doesn't say he's retied (that I saw), just that he's a vet. You lose all benefits if you don't retire. Also, even retired, Dental 1/?
VInTheSkyWithElephants
Nevermind, I just re-read the first sentence. Retired. Ok then my only argument is that it still has a high co-pay
VInTheSkyWithElephants
I'll down-vote myself for bad reading comprehension
VInTheSkyWithElephants
If he goes through the VA, he may be able to claim all of it instead of being responsible for the co-pay
VInTheSkyWithElephants
through Tricare is still expensive and doesn't cover a lot of major work, or has very high co-pays 2/?
Calistil
Did you not read the part about the VA taking months so the dentist did in right then for free?
climbng69101
All retired military have tricare
CreepyPhlox
Retired military still have Tricare insurance though. They can get work done by any dentist that accepts Tricare with just a copay.
ChaosandChaos
Also, what head trauma did he get on his multiple tours in the air force? Hitting the pillow too hard?
NewPhoneWhoDissss
VA and tricare are completely different
Totallyscrewedinaustin
Thats through the VA. They should have Tricare and most dentists accept that insurance.
ThePlainDoll
Good man. Vets deserve to be brought back up to 100% IMO. Without them I'd probably not be sitting in my chair writing this.
NickRivieraMD
They deserve it, agreed. But even with the best of medicine what's broke is broke to some degree. There's no undoing damage.
SlyRamen
Haha sirfalsey calls a toilet a chair
GreatestUserNameEver
Why the hell do we not treat our vets like kings? I’m not military, but my outside perspective is that our military gives them a number and
GreatestUserNameEver
that’s all that vets are to them. We should pour our very best onto them. Civilians and the military alike. I don’t care about your
GreatestUserNameEver
political views, these are the people that do the things I’m too afraid to do. I’m ashamed that my healthcare is better than theirs. They
GreatestUserNameEver
should have priority before me. That’s where I want my tax dollars to go.
MaxZimuss
Agreed. I think our veterans should get special treatment in every possible circumstance. Completely free health/dental/vision etc. for life
Lots43
Also that for everyone else. Insane we don't.
VulcanP90
You would. We won WWII.
mialynneb
Our government sure loves to send them into war and then does fuckall when they return. But since they say support our troops, it's all good
TheBentPianist
Wellllll you probably still would be.
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Jhenga
Good pay, benefits, and training opportunities for 18 year olds with no real marketable skills combined with social stature.
Tmissfrizzle
I'm dumb. I was about to say he's a dentist not a veterinarian
Noob3rts
I'll probably get downvoted for this but I have to ask this question. What did you expect would happen? Logical treatment from a government
Noob3rts
(2) that has basically sold off most of their essential living tools to the private sector to be profiteered from? I wish the best for Vets
Noob3rts
(3) but the government doesn't give a shit. It's heartbreaking but that is just the reality of the situation.
SacreDoom
Where are you from?
annibe11e
Where would you be sitting?
oldswimr
From a Veteran. Thank you.
saintjocks
i bet you all want them to live happely ever after, and i wish that for everyone not just a vet, but who is willing to actually pay for it??
DevilLeDoguex
All those pussy down votes make me love this comment more.
SergeantSalsa
Uh... You sure about that?
MisleadTruth
Plot twist: A veteren is their parent.
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ImgursLibertarian
While I agree, the vets don't make the policy choices. Vote for anti-war candidates for congress & POTUS.
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somenerandom
I believe it's more the notion they join with. The government has them do shit, most governments do, but fact of the matter is they sign>
somenerandom
up to fight for their country, and do see messed up shit and risk their lives in ways I probably can't imagine.They deserve some respect imo
nexusband
Respect for having the right to choose they can do that? I don't think that was intended with the declaration of independence.
BeardedScarecrow
the Taliban was Afghanistan's military.
BendyDicksCumOnMyBaps
therealDJGUMBALL
Does it have to be another countries uniformed military for it to count? What about countries who support those terrorizing us on our soil?
ImgursLibertarian
I think I understand where you are coming from. But hate the system, not the pawns.
Bunnon
The reason that American soil hasn't been touch by another countries military is because of those same vets you call non heroes.
Lumpybiscuitz
right so instead we create terrorists
FiveShiftOne
Is it? We could achieve the same effect with a standing army that isn't constantly fighting in other countries.
Bunnon
We spend our lives fighting or serving in other countries so you don't have to worry about foreign invaders on our soil...so fuck you.
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Sojero
My best friend and I both served. He has 3 purple hearts and he isn't a hero? Alright, let's see you get a grenade to the back and be fine
nexusband
Sorry, in my book, that's just stupid. You both enlisted, you choose that risk. Granted, you should get way better care for that and you ->
nexusband
Should get a lot of other things
Sojero
It is stupid because I left a drug filled town with no future to serve my country? I understood the risk. I accept it as a choice.
nexusband
No, that's not stupid, but that's the easy way out.
ImgursLibertarian
I think we should have fewer veterans (less overseas bases, less hiring etc) and they should get lifetime QUALITY benefits.
TheTravelingAirman
Won't happen because of US interests. Between Russia and China, we're locked into Europe and the Pacific. Both seize territory too easily.
nexusband
Please, get out of Europe. We don't need you. And in case Putin decides to invade, you don't stand a chance anyway.
nexusband
Oh, and take the waste in form of nuclear weapons with you on the way out, please.
TheTravelingAirman
I'll get right on that. XD
ImgursLibertarian
Why doesn't Europe have a huge standing army?
shipshipsandships
Because we spend our money on other things + there are a few european countries that don't like the idea of a united european army.
ImgursLibertarian
Because then you would have the US. Your states would no longer be sovereign. Germany and France would dictate law to all others....
BustedHelmet
huge standing armies in Europe have been a very bad thing historically Napoleonic wars, WWI, WWII, Hundred years war just to name a few
Surisuule
Army pulled a tooth and promised me an implant. Now I have a hole in my smile. I wish they’d send you out in at least decent shape.
101Medic
Yep. I was promised an implant then told because we were on a deployment cycle, it wouldn't happen. We were always on a deployment cycle.
CoBr2
I don't understand, you can NOT be on a deployment cycle? What would you even do?
101Medic
Not sure. I'd guess double the connex layouts and thrice a day PT until everyone was at 300 or better. Surely no soldiering, that'd be nuts.
CoBr2
Lol, I just feel like so much of my time is either post deployment crap or deployment prep/readiness. There'd be so much time for activities
101Medic
Same excuse was given for LASIK. Fuckers.
ezpozito
This
allegedlynerdy
Wait, Lasik? As in something that without you have difficulty seeing? As in you're worse at your job without?
imthatguyhere
So is the tooth. People hear him whistling from a mile away.
WhatExactlyIs
bruh, they got my x-rays backwards and gave me a filling i didnt need, then the filling had a gap, then of course rot happened under filling
WhatExactlyIs
which shot straight down in the matter of four months and i needed an emergency root canal, i fucking hate this cap that feels like its
WhatExactlyIs
always going to fall off. my dentists tell me i have perfect teeth and no plaque yet here i am with a fuckin cap. pisses me off daily lol