RONAN — Johanna Clark wants to see more smiles and the St. Ignatius resident, mother of four, knows just how difficult it can sometimes be to find a smile amidst a frustrating dental emergency.

Clark recently created Smilz, a charity to help people who aren’t in a position to pay for much-needed dental work themselves. Beyond just accepting donations, she is collecting both financial and material items to be sold at a monthly auction, the first of which will take place in Ronan on Dec. 18. All monies received go to assist low to medium income families with the costs associated with getting the necessary dental care their families deserve, as well as promoting educational programs within the school system. For families in a dental emergency, Clark knows, there’s often nowhere to turn.

About a year and a half ago during a routine visit, Clark’s family dentist informed her that her 4-year-old son’s teeth had decayed so severely that he would need to undergo major surgery and continue antibiotic treatment for quite some time thereafter. The first appointment she could get was in 35 days, the operation’s cost was in the $4-5,000 range and Clark was told she had just 30 days to pay the bill or her son, Gus, would have to wait for another opening in the surgeon’s busy schedule to have his teeth fixed.

“It was just an emotional time,” she said. “No one would help me even though my son was in a lot of pain and he was only four. No one would help me get him fixed without a significant amount of money being provided to them and it was frustrating. I felt like this $4-5,000 they’re asking me to provide is basically a vacation to these dentists and their families. Here I am, watching my husband and myself working so hard… it was a stressful time.”

The Clarks each worked two to three jobs, put off other bills and pulled every dime together to take care of their family. During it all, Johanna was on the phone with senators and congressmen, trying to find someone — something — to help make sure her little guy could have this necessary surgery. The Clarks were not a welfare family, and had never had a problem with dental work before, but deep into this emergency, they could not find help. Their insurance provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield denied coverage even though the situation was, in all respects, a medial emergency and a life-threatening situation. Within a couple of weeks of talking to others in her community, Clark had heard from people that even Medicare programs don’t cover dental either.

“We went through everything, there was nothing out there… nothing,” she said. “I was floored. We thought, if we get through this, this is a need in the community, this is a need in the state. We’re not talking about families that are expecting a hand out. We’re talking about hard-working families that are pulling 50, 60 hours a week and can’t afford to take care of our children.”

Now with this program, the Clarks are giving back.

“Going to the dentist is as important as getting your immunizations,” she said. “What people fail to realize is, even if you send your kids in to brush everyday, you’re not stopping a genetic problem that could be existing in your child’s mouth.”

Infections in children’s’ teeth can spur up from sugary drinks, or even healthy juices and some kids are more prone to decay than others. Infections can be life threatening.

“We want to get into the schools, educate them,” she said. “It’s what you’re eating, what you’re drinking — we want to send information home to the parents and encourage them to get their teeth checked.”

It’s hard to imagine the pain 85-year-old Glenn Murphy experiences every time he takes a bite. Murphy will be the recipient of December’s Smilz Auction. In 2007, he experienced a thoracic abdominal anoretic aneurysm and underwent thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm surgery, the second most drastic surgery you can have on a person, daughter-in-law Betsy Murphy said. Before the surgery, Glenn’s aorta was swollen to 9 centimeters; a normal person’s shouldn’t be larger than 2.

“It was bigger around than a soda can,” Betsy said. “He was very sick and lost a lot of weight.”

Glenn, who had full upper and full lower dentures at the time of the surgery, lost so much weight that, now, his teeth don’t fit and the Murphys are facing a bill of thousands of dollars to have a new set made.

“The problem is, since he technically owns the ranch property with us, the VA (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) won’t qualify him to get his dental work done,” Betsy said. “And Medicare doesn’t cover dental.”

When she heard about Smilz, Betsy thought the charity was just for kids, but Clark had found a worthy candidate in Glenn.

“If we can’t get him teeth, then he’s not going to be able to eat well and he’s going to keep losing weight and probably have a shorter life span,” Betsy said. “It really does affect how he lives. Most people don’t pay attention, but he has to eat different kinds of food. For example, he can’t eat hamburger anymore because it gets into places that it shouldn’t.”

Glenn still uses his dentures because if he didn’t, he couldn’t eat at all, but they hurt. And he can’t leave them in like he used to.

“It will be wonderful to have him be able to eat again,” Betsy said. “That’s a great Christmas present for him.”

“I woke up one day and I said now is the time,” Clark said. “We haven’t asked anyone for money, everybody has something laying around in their garage that can bring in some money and some of the businesses in Ronan have done gift certificates to add to the table. Flying W Auctions have donated their time at the auction house to the cause.”

Anything and everything has the potential to bring in revenue for the Smilz campaign. To donate items, call Clark at (406) 880-4393, or visit www.smilz.com to learn more.

“I never had an issue with dental up until then,” Clark said. “Until then, there wasn’t a problem.”