A patient came to Albrecht Free Clinic in West Bend complaining of mouth pain. During an emergency exam with the clinic’s dental provider, a cyst was discovered near a tooth that needed to be extracted. With the help of a payment voucher, the patient was sent to an oral surgeon who determined the patient needed a CT scan, and then possibly a biopsy and surgery. The patient was prescribed antibiotics for his dental infection. The CT scan was donated by Froedtert West Bend Hospital and reviewed by Gary Herdrich, MD, Albrecht Free Clinic medical director. The CT scan ultimately showed the patient needed surgery by an oral surgeon.

The patient did not have insurance and could not afford the cost of the surgery, so a call was made to the Wisconsin Association of Free and Charitable Clinics to try to find an oral surgeon who would be willing to take on this patient. A surgeon at Winnebago Oral Surgery graciously agreed to perform the surgery at no charge. Without the collaborative effort of Albrecht Free Clinic and Froedtert West Bend Hospital staff and a philanthropic oral surgeon, the patient would still be suffering with a painful, infected tooth.