Chicagoland program helping vets get their smiles back

CHICAGO - A Chicagoland program is helping veterans get their smiles back.  

In Sunday's Good News Guarantee, the work of one suburban woman has changed the lives of countless veterans around the country, starting with their teeth.   

"I wanted to go into the military.  My dad was in the military in WWII," said Army veteran Richard Green.  

He voluntarily enlisted in the military during the Vietnam War.  A few years after his service, he sought dental care from the V.A.   

"Doctor said, don't worry Mr. Green, we're going to give you the best teeth that anybody has. I said you're kidding me and he said no," said Green.  

When he needed replacement dentures, the 80-year-old Forest Park resident heard what countless veterans across the country hear every day.   

"I said,  ‘Doc, I need new teeth,’ he said ‘Yeah you do, but I’m sorry, the program is not getting the money anymore’," said Green.  

Living with a pair of 50-year-old dentures, Green said he was miserable.

"He was totally toothless when he came to us, and he had been unfortunately for quite some time," said Patricia DeVore.  

She is the founder of the Veteran Smile Program.  

Many aren’t aware that the Department of Veterans Affairs does not cover dental care for veterans if it is not connected to a combat-related injury.  

It’s a policy that’s personal for DeVore.   

"My Vietnam vet brother had pulled his own teeth out with pliers. I was mortified because the V.A. would not help him get the dental care he needed, and he simply could not afford it like so many veterans across this country," said DeVore.  

Her brother, James Douglas Jones passed away last month.  

She provided him with the dentures he desperately needed.  And she’s done the same, through Veteran Smile, for hundreds of other veterans nationwide. Veterans, like Richard Green.   

"Your organization has helped me more than you could ever realize because I never thought I was an ugly person, but now I have more confidence," said Green. 

Veteran Smile runs on private donations.  

If you’d like to help, go to www.VetsSmile.org.  

Right now on the U.S. House floor, a bill would provide dental care to all of our veterans.  Seven of its 8 sponsors are congressmen and women from Illinois.