Three dentists to help Smiles for Survivors
Smiles for Survivors Foundation, a nonprofit organization that focuses its efforts on providing preventative and restorative dental care to local breast cancer patients, has added three dentists to provide pro-bono services for its dental rehabilitation program.
Smiles for Survivors said in a statement the dentists are Cynthia Allen, D.D.S.; Mark Degen, D.D.S., M.D.; and James Rogers, D.D.S., M.S.
They are the first dentists to commit to providing services for the nonprofit’s program; services offered include one-time emergency care and pain management services as well as the procedures included in the treatment plan of patients who qualify for the foundation’s more extensive rehabilitation program.
“We are pleased to have the support of these esteemed dentists,” says Dr. Olya Banchik, the Summerlin-based dentist who founded Smiles for Survivors. She notes that Dr. Degen provided services for the foundation’s first case in 2011, Raven Burroughs, a 34-year-old breast cancer survivor from Las Vegas. “Their support enables Smiles to offer emergency care and treatment so that more breast cancer patients and survivors who are in need can receive the help.”
Allen specializes in general dentistry at Summerhills Dental. Degen is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon with extensive training in dentoalveolar, dental implant, facial cosmetic and maxillofacial trauma surgery and is the sole surgeon and owner at Red Rock Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Centre, which he joined in 2003.Rogers, founder of Canyon Ridge Periodontics, has 18 years of experience and advanced training in all facets of periodontal care and dental implants.
Roughly 40 percent of all cancer patients suffer from oral side effects during or after cancer treatment. These may include oral inflammation, salivary gland dysfunction, and functional disabilities. Oral complications may also increase a patient’s risk of life threatening infection and could lead to a slowing down or discontinuation of cancer treatments. Since 2011, Smiles for Survivors has provided a range of dental services to prevent complications and restore oral health to breast cancer patients already affected.
Local dentists and dental specialists interested in providing services are encouraged to contact the Smiles for Survivors Foundation for more information at 702-341-9597.
