The ‘Power of Organized Dentistry’
Quick Bites:
- The WSDA Board of Directors manages a relief fund that provides short-term funding to support dentists impacted by disasters.
- WSDA has recently provided $10,000 Relief Fund allocations to dental associations around the country, including Florida, Hawaii and North Carolina.
- The most recent Relief Fund allocation was made this past January to the California Dental Association, in support of dentists impacted by the 14 destructive wildfires that affected the Los Angeles and San Diego areas.
Kevin Van Asch’s North Carolina dental office was submerged under more than six feet of floodwater from Hurricane Helene. He is in the process of rebuilding and has been seeing patients at a temporary site.
The water mark on North Carolina dentist Kevin Van Asch’s wall tells you all you need to know about the impact of Hurricane Helene, the Category 4 hurricane that decimated the state in September 2024.
The mark offers a chilling reminder of the catastrophic flooding that submerged his office under more than six feet of water last fall. The impact — unprecedented for North Carolina — was horrific: at least 106 people died in the disaster that caused significant destruction of public infrastructure and residential areas. To date, seven people remain unaccounted for.
After making landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida on Sept. 27, the hurricane traveled over land across Georgia as a Category 2 hurricane, rapidly escalating into a Category 4 storm as it swept into the Appalachian Mountains. There, it deposited record-breaking amounts of rainfall across several communities in western North Carolina.
As a result of the historic rainfall, several rivers in the region overflowed and inundated multiple settlements, destroying houses and cutting off power, transportation, and communications to many towns for prolonged periods. Several mudslides occurred across the region, significantly worsening the damage.
Van Asch’s practice was destroyed.
In the months following the storm, he and his staff relocated to another office where they’ve been seeing patients in a temporary setting — and he has been delighted that his patients stuck with him through it all.
And now, a little more than eight months after the storm, Van Asch just completed a final walk through of his soon-to-be new dental office with the contractors who will be eliminating the telltale water mark as they help him rebuild.
“They say it should take around four months, but any progress is great,” said Van Ash “It’s been a lot of hurry up and wait so far, but this is a big step forward,” he said. “Right now, the office is still gutted to the studs, but hopefully soon we will have some construction photos.”
Van Asch was one of hundreds of North Carolina dentists affected by Helene that received a grant from the North Carolina Dental Society Foundation, with supplemental funds provided by dentists nearly 3,000 miles away via the WSDA Relief Fund.
Dentists Helping Dentists
For more than two decades, the WSDA has maintained a dedicated fund specifically for providing relief or support to dentists. Association bylaws require the funds to be used for this specific purpose.
Ironically, former WSDA Public Policy Coordinator Kim Nguyen found herself on the receiving end of one such donation in 2023 – as the executive director of the Hawaii Dental Association. WSDA extended funds to the HDA to help dentists impacted by the Maui wildfires.
“We were so appreciative that the dental family nationwide came through for our Hawaii dentists in their absolute time of need. The immediate response was overwhelming,” said Nguyen.
Like North Carolina, the Hawaii Dental Association pooled all donations together and distributed funds to any Hawaii-licensed dentist who practiced on Maui and was affected in some way by the fires. Applicants used the funds primarily to replace office equipment and supplies that were lost or damaged and to pay for license renewal fees for the upcoming license year.
“We wanted to provide ‘something’ to all applicants, knowing that the total cost of recovery is far more than what our fund could award,” she added.
“Our receiving doctors are very appreciative of the generosity of our dental families – both associations and individual doctors. They are still rebuilding, as you can imagine, but they are proud – as we are – to know that organized dentistry was there for them.”
For WSDA Executive Director Bracken Killpack, the association’s Relief Fund speaks to the very nature of organized dentistry and the dental profession.
“Historically when there are hurricanes or floods or wildfires, and we know there are dental offices impacted, we consider making a contribution to a fund that is providing short-term support to impacted offices,” said Killpack. “Thankfully, we don’t typically experience the kinds of natural disasters that some of our counterparts elsewhere do on a regular basis. Watching these hurricanes and wildfires can create a sense of helplessness,” he added.
“Dentists are largely helpers – it’s in their DNA to provide their time, talent and resources to help to those in need,” he said. “It’s rewarding to know WSDA can help dentists and their staff, whether two states away or all the way across the country, as they face great personal and professional loss.”
No One Was Expecting It to Be That Bad
Hurricanes primarily form over warm ocean waters, particularly in tropical regions. In the United States, they most frequently impact states like Texas, Louisiana and Florida.
North Carolina is not usually on that list. But then, Hurricane Helene was not your usual hurricane.
“No one was expecting it to be that bad, especially in the western part of the state,” said Sharon D’Costa, fund development and program director for the North Carolina Dental Society Foundation (NCDSF).
In the hours and days immediately following the storm, D’Costa and the staff at the NCDSF huddled to reach out to every dentist in the affected area – members and nonmembers alike – to let them know that relief fund were available. As they made contact, they heard from some dentists who just lost equipment – and others who lost their entire practice. Many dentists and their staffs also lost their homes in the storm.
A $10,000 donation from the WSDA Relief Fund helped sustain NCDSF outreach efforts to those affected by Helene.
“I was amazed to be honest,” said D’Costa. “WSDA as one of the first dental societies that reached out and sent us a check,” said D’Costa. “It was just amazing to see how everyone rises to meet the call, even though they are far away. This is where we really get to see the power of organized dentistry,” she said.
“We tried to help everyone. I have not seen anything like this before. We even had a dentist who was close to retiring, and instead of selling his equipment, he just donated it to impacted dentists. It was amazing to see,” added D’Costa. “I was fascinated with seeing how people stepped up and encouraged us to do what we were doing, which is why we can encourage people to reapply and we are still able to help them,” she said.
North Carolina Dental Society CEO and Executive Director Jim Goodman added his appreciation.
“We are sincerely grateful to the Washington State Dental Association for their generous and timely donation,” said Goodman. “[Your] support allowed us to respond swiftly and effectively to the needs of impacted dentists. The North Carolina Dental Society Foundation deeply appreciates this meaningful show of solidarity.”
Not One, but Two Hurricanes
In Florida, hurricanes are an annual occurrence, a part of life in the Sunshine State. But the frequency and severity of recent storms has been anything but routine.
On Sept. 26, 2024, Floridians also experienced the force of Hurricane Helene. Less than two weeks later, Hurricane Milton slammed into central Florida. Initially a Category 5 hurricane, with sustained winds reaching 180 miles per hour, Milton was downgraded to Category 3 before roaring ashore. But a Category 3 storm is still devastating.
Worse yet, some communities were hit twice. And once again, WSDA’s Relief Fund helped make a difference.
R. Jai Gillum is the director of foundation affairs for the Florida State Dental Association. (FSDA). As in North Carolina, hundreds of dentists in Florida found their offices – and in some cases their homes – destroyed by the hurricanes. The emergency disaster assistance grant program administered by the FSDA’s foundation offers support to any Florida dentist impacted by a natural disaster, the majority of which are for storms, Gillum said.
For the 2024 hurricane season, FSDA distributed 90 disaster grants of $1,500 apiece to help dentists personally or professionally impacted by the storm.
“The biggest thing we want everyone to realize when you read about [the storm] is just how many of their colleagues this affected. In the case of Hurricane Milton, there were people on waiting lists for relief funds. But once we got the grant, we could help more people,” she said.
“Were it not for donation from states and individuals, we would not have been able to help 90 people. It is extremely impactful to get a donation like that.”
It’s not uncommon, Gillum said, for a dentist to forward the grant to a staff member who may have lost everything in a storm. The grants have to go to a licensed dentist, but it is up to them how to use those funds, she said.
“Some won’t take the grants. We have to force them — we’re like, ‘No, this is what this is here for — to support you in this time of need,’” said Gillum. “And so they may take it and say, ‘Well I don’t need this, but some of my staff members are in dire need.’”
Sometimes, the need is so great that their funds have been completely depleted, said Gillum. That was the case with Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 storm that hit in September 2023. Were it not for donations from other states, the FSDA would not have been able to help as many people.
“I think this, and I say this all the time: Dentists are some of the most philanthropic people I’ve ever worked with,” said Gillum. “So many of them provide pro bono services or discounts in their offices. They don’t care to receive any recognition. I think many of them think it’s just part of their duty and obligation to do that,” she said. “I just love that about working with these doctors.”
“The Foundation could not do what we do without the help of donors like the WSDA.”
This article originally appeared in Issue 2, 2025 of the WSDA News.
