Remember the last time you had a bad toothache? Now try to imagine having several problem teeth and being unable to explain your pain to those who care for you. Worse still, imagine being in pain for months, and then having to endure a long, difficult car ride to get relief.

That’s the situation faced by more than 100 Larimer County adults with disabilities. It is a situation that has been described as "criminal" and "inhumane" by local patient advocates and health and human service providers. Now a local coalition staffed by the Health District of Northern Larimer County is seeking donations to help change that.

Individuals with severe disabilities, either physical or developmental, sometimes require general anesthesia for any dental treatment at all. Currently there are no options in Larimer County for disabled adults who need dental care under general anesthesia. As a result, these local patients need to wait for months, sometimes more than a year, and then be transported to Denver or Colorado Springs for access to care.

"The waiting list is long, and finding dentists who can work on these patients is difficult," says Fort Collins resident Donna Kling, who has a 35-year-old son with disabilities. "It just becomes a monumental task. That’s why these people need to be able to get care in their own backyard."

Members of the Dental Health Partnership of Larimer County have devised a solution as local caregivers, dentists, anesthesiologists and the Harmony Surgery Center have come together to create a local response. This group is now seeking to raise $23,000 to purchase the equipment and supplies necessary to begin serving residents in January 2011.

"Dedicated family members, caregivers, dentists and medical professionals have worked long and hard to create a workable local solution," says Jim Becker, resource development coordinator for the Health District. "Now we just need to get this final piece in place so we can end the delays that prolong suffering."