Still, from experience, he says that most people avoid going to the dentist until there is a huge problem. “People often don’t realize how bad teeth can impact their health and well-being,” he says. “They don’t realize that they can die from that small black cavity dot they chose to ignore. But they often come only when things get ugly.”
Dr. Cameron Lewis may be an Oral Surgeon by profession, but he is all but your average one. He is a traveling oral maxillofacial surgeon going around New York and Connecticut, visiting various communities and bringing his services to the general dentist’s office. And he offers a wide range of specialized procedures: from dental implant surgery and extractions to bone grafting and IV sedation.
His mission is to bring back smiles to as many faces as possible. He could’ve opened a traditional dentist’s office, but instead, he chose to travel around for one simple reason. “Not many people require these highly specialized procedures I offer,” Dr. Cameron Lewis explains. “If I had opened a location-bound office, some patients would have to travel thousands of miles to fix their problem.”
This way, Dr. Lewis can offer his skills to many more people and communities. Even if only one patient in the area requires this kind of care, the local general dentist’s office can give him a call, and the patient can quickly go home safe and sound.
But besides the people unwilling to go to the dentist, the United States suffers from another huge problem. Many children, adolescents, and adults living on the brink of poverty don’t even get a chance for preventive dental care.
According to Health.gov’s National Survey of Children’s Health, “75% of children aged 1 through 17 years who reside in households with income less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level received a preventive dental service in 2018-19.”
While 75% seems like a considerable number, Dr. Cameron Lewis explains that anything below 100% is completely unacceptable when it comes to health. He adds that people affected by poverty can be held at fault. After all, when you are fighting for survival, going to the dentist is usually not the first thing that pops into your mind.
“It is one of the underlying problems that plague our society. It’s sad to see so many people in pain and problems,” he says. “Still, everyone should visit a dentist at least twice a year. There is always a way for that – free programs financed by the government or some dental offices offering free checkups. Remember, prevention is always better than cure.”
