One tooth at a time

About One Tooth

One Tooth At A Time, INC., is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, created for the purpose of providing dental education and providing the screening component of our dental treatment program for disadvantaged citizens of Harris County and the greater Houston area.

OUR MISSION

NOW ACCEPTING DONATIONs for
September
10,2022!

Our Mission Is To Make quality dental care available to low-income children (ages 1-17) and adults, the elderly, the mentally and physically disabled, the medically compromised (HIV/AIDS, diabetes) and battered women on fixed incomes without Medicaid or any other type of insurance seeking to be reintroduced into working society.

Our Goal

OUR GOAL IS TO ALLEVIATE the lack of dental education and remove the economic barriers to oral health care for the disadvantaged by bringing dental care directly to the community. We seek to provide a comprehensive range of dental healthcare and dental health education. Our dental health education program will provide the knowledge for our clients to practice at-home, good dental care and improve their oral health.

The idea of One Tooth At A Time, Inc. was born to Dr. Phyllis J. Morgan in May 2000. Dr. Morgan states: "On an almost weekly basis, I do a lot of pro-bono work in my office. However, in order for my office to be productive and not operate in the red, I needed to do something to help the less fortunate."

One Tooth At A Time, Inc. was born out of the desire to help, and close the gap that separates the disadvantaged from good dental education and oral health.

More than 108 million U.S. adults and children are without dental insurance. There are 7 million Americans with special needs experiencing neglect with their medical and oral health care needs. Statistics show that more than 54 million individuals defined as disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act, including almost a million children under age 6 and 4.5 million children between 6 and 16 years of age are uninsured. The oral health of children and adolescents with special healthcare needs may be affected negatively by medications, therapies, or special diets they require, or by the difficulty with cleaning teeth thoroughly on a daily basis.

Tooth decay is the most chronic childhood disease, effecting 50 percent of first graders and 80 percent of 17 year old's. 33.1% of the adults 65 and older are endentulous (meaning without with). Almost 3 of every 10 adults over the age 65 have lost their teeth to cavities and gum disease. Diabetes has long been known to increase the risk of severe periodontal disease. The ability to control periodontal disease may help to control your diabetes. Patients that may be medically compromised have other factors that effect their dental care. For instance, cost is a significant factor cited for HIV-infected patients not seeking dental care. Oral candidiasis (or yeast infection) and orally hairy leukoplakia were the most common lesions in the mouths of HIV-infected patients.