Our Mission
Homeless Not Toothless is a well-established program with strong, existing partnerships among community-based organizations that serve individuals with disabilities and the poor. Dr. Grossman & Homeless Not Toothless have nearly 30 years of experience providing clinical dental services, which demonstrates their knowledge and experience in the field. HNT understands the role of the caregiver and has a letter of support from the UCLA School of Dentistry, which supports the organization by providing 4th-year dental students on an externship basis to Dr. Grossman’s office in Brentwood to render care at no charge when funds exist. We also provide at-cost services when lab fees are incurred, such as making dentures and crowns.
HISTORY
Homeless Not Toothless (HNT) began in 1991 when founder and president, Dr. Jay Grossman, decided giving money or leftover food to the homeless he passed by was no longer sufficient. One day, while reaching for another dollar bill to hand out to another homeless man, Dr. Jay felt his business card. Not knowing if that card would or could make a difference, he went with his gut.
"So instead of a dollar, I gave him my business card. I said, ‘Let me see what I can do about getting you out of pain and replacing those missing teeth so you can function by eating and look good for a job interview. That’ll give you more benefit than my giving you a buck."
Within seven months of handing out that first business card, he had performed more than 100 procedures on the homeless free of charge. Soon after, more and more homeless patients began walking into his dental practice, encouraging Dr. Jay to expanded his office space and search for partnership.
In the beginning, the Venice Family Center (VFC), a nonprofit that provides free health care services to the underserved located minutes away from Dr. Jay's practice, quickly became a partner for HNT. Together, rules and guidelines were created for what is now HNT. First and foremost, all patients must prove a minimum of 90 days of sobriety, and secondly, all patients must be actively engaged in finding work.
Today, most of our patients are referred by the Veterans Health Administration, LA Department of Family Services, and local shelters.
Current Operations
Since its inception in 1991, Homeless Not Toothless has provided more than $10 million in services to over 124,000 patients! The dentists who volunteer their time pay for all expenses and work with labs who donate their services.
Just over a decade after opening the HNT doors, Dr. Jay had the opportunity to join forces with actress and philanthropist Sharon Stone in her nonprofit, Planet Hope. Since then, and together, the two rebuilt a dental facility to extend free dental care to the 28,000 foster youth living in Los Angeles.
Some of HNT's pro bono patients have included an elderly ex-convict who had no teeth and had had to survive on a liquid diet for 40 years, a 5-year-old whose teeth were so blackened by decay that he had been ridiculed at school, and a 50-year-old, John, who had spiraled into homelessness as a result of a methamphetamine addiction, losing his construction business and his family in the process.
"My goal is to expand Homeless Not Toothless nationwide. This is my way of giving back to my community and doing what I can in helping to repair the world.”
As of today, HNT has treated more than 124,000 patients, including veterans, homeless, and foster youth, providing more than $10 million in services. More than three-dozen additional dental practices now offer Homeless Not Toothless services.