PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — For months, I have been following the story of Nolan Gingerella. He is a special-needs student who desperately needed dental care.
His teacher called Ask Alison looking for help.
In September, Nolan arrived at Samuels Sinclair Dental Center in Providence for care.
Over the summer, I found out the center was opening for limited appointments on July 1 on a first-call, first-served basis for special-needs patients.
Nolan’s advocates, including his teacher, Trecia Pimer, and his mother, Dana Gingerella, were told about the opportunity.
“Well, I set alarms. I woke up. I starting calling before they opened. It was really exciting, like a Taylor Swift tickets feeling,” said Pimer.
They were able to get a spot.
The phone lines opened at 8 a.m. and by 8:12 a.m., all the spots were taken.
And in September the day came, Nolan came to the clinic as part of his school day.
“It’s great. We’re excited, happy for him,” said Pimer.
Nolan’s mother felt the same way.
“Today is relief, and it’s leading to where he’ll be feeling so much better,” she said.
That day, however, was just the first part of Nolan’s recovery.
Dr. Elizabeth Benz with the Samuels Sinclair Dental Center saw him for the first time to evaluate him before the work could be done.
“Nolan has some decay due to years of not being able to access care. Unfortunately, we will have to take him to the operating room to treat him,” Benz said.
The news — surgery to come — was not unexpected and for special-needs patients, even these visits can cause some stress.
But overall, Nolan got through it.
“I can’t thank everyone enough here at the dentistry. You, Alison, Trecia. It felt like going to a Boston Celtics championship game that they won,” said Gingerella.
What did she think about the outcome?
“I think he did great. He’s very easy going, and I think with the help of the dental hygienist, they were both great. The dentist was wonderful. And he’ll be going in for surgery to have his wisdom teeth removed and the molar that’s been causing him pain for so many years,” said his mother.
Since then, on Oct. 29, Nolan got in again to the center for his first dental cleaning in years with surgery originally scheduled for January.
And we just learned that January is now February for Nolan’s surgery, but regardless, his teacher tells me she’s just relieved that he’s finally on the surgical schedule.
Since this story started airing, I have been getting more and more emails and calls.
The Rhode Island Dental Association is aware, and I get the sense that more legislative change is on the way to finally fix this broken system in Rhode Island.
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