Press Release
For more information about Erie Family Health Center, please contact Valerie Comprelli at 312.432.7463 or vcomprelli@eriefamilyhealth.org
Orthodontics Services at Erie Humboldt Park Health Center
Erie Family Health Center is proud to announce its expanding oral health services for children by launching a new orthodontics project at Erie Dental Health Center—Humboldt Park in December 2009. With a generous grant donation from the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation, Erie will offer orthodontics to its pediatric dental patients. Dr. Gus Souri DDS, a board certified pediatric dentist and current Vice President of Oral Health Services at Erie, has over fifteen years of extensive orthodontic training and will be the director of Erie’s newest program.
Orthodontics is an extremely costly, but needed health care service. “Even patients who have dental insurance still cannot afford to pay the out of pocket cost,” says Dr. Souri. “For example the average cost of orthodontic treatment is $5,000 most insurance companies only cover $1,000.” Only 2% of Illinois orthodontists accept Medicaid and these services are largely unavailable to children of low-income families. Crowded teeth and misaligned bites can lead to tooth decay, gingivitis and jaw joint pains, directly affecting patients’ health more than any other chronic infectious disease. Untreated tooth decay causes pain and infections that may lead to problems eating, speaking, playing and learning. Crowded or crooked teeth can lead to speech and chewing problems, while also contributing to low self-esteem, shyness and embarrassment, especially in children. By preventing these problems earlier in a patient’s life, more serious oral issues can be prevented from developing.
Using a high quality and self-sustaining orthodontics program developed by Dr. Souri as a model, Erie will implement the program at its dental center in Humboldt Park for patients under 19 years of age. The program will involve staff training, community outreach, education and treatment plans for each individual patient. The goal is to enroll 120 children in the program by its third year. Since 2005 Erie has provided oral health care to over 5,000 patients while consistently working to provide patients with high quality and affordable health services. Dr. Souri believes “by providing professional orthodontic treatment for pediatric patients, the goal is to provide better oral health and create beautiful smiles, more confident profiles and healthier bites using state-of-the-art technology.”