Cabell Huntington Hospital Foundation Receives Grant for Dental Laser

Monday, September 20, 2021

The Cabell Huntington Hospital Foundation has received a grant of $50,000 from Highmark West Virginia Charitable Fund for Health, a fund of the Highmark Foundation, to purchase a carbon dioxide (CO2) oral and maxillofacial dental laser.

CO2 lasers can precisely remove thin layers of skin with minimal damage to the surrounding structures and are used to treat lesions and tumors of the larynx, pharynx, oral cavity and lips with less bleeding and virtually no scarring.

“The added convenience of having this type of technology available at our dental office will benefit so many patients and prevent additional visits to the dentist,” said Raj Khanna, DMD, MD, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon at Cabell Huntington Hospital (CHH), St. Mary’s Medical Center (SMMC) and Marshall Dentistry & Oral Surgery and professor and chair of the department of dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.

In addition to the service to patients, more than 40 dental residents will be trained to use the laser over the next decade, said Khanna, who also serves as director of the general dentistry residency at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.

“We are more than grateful to be able to purchase this much-needed equipment,” said Bradley Burck, vice president of Corporate Foundation and Donor Philanthropy at CHH and SMMC. “Within the first year of using the CO2 laser, we also will be using grant funds to help more than 1,000 uninsured or underinsured patients.”

The Highmark West Virginia Charitable Fund for Health is a private, charitable, organization of Highmark Inc. that supports initiatives and programs aimed at improving community health. The Highmark West Virginia Charitable Fund for Health’s mission is to improve the health, well-being and quality of life for individuals who reside in all 55 counties in West Virginia.

For more information, please call Marshall Dentistry & Oral Surgery at 304.691.1247.