Arizona dental non-profit aims to give smiles back to people struggling with addiction

PHOENIX - Lucky and grateful, those two words are used often by Trevor Gordon. Those two words have not been used in his vocabulary since he was 17. It was at that young age that Trevor took his first pain pill.

"We had a lot of surgeries in my family, so we had stockpiles of them," he said. "I was in football and finished football and then became interested."

That first pill quickly snowballed into a full-fledged addiction. He quickly spiraled and for years he’s struggled.

Last year, he decided to make a change. That decision landed him here, at the John Volken Academy. The JVA is a two-year residential life skills academy, providing long term addiction treatment. 

Students like Trevor use work therapy to heal – taking care of the 155 horses on property, learning trade skills, and completing their education. 

Now, after spending 16 months at the ranch, Trevor says this is the first program that’s helped him find happiness again. 

"I love life. If my worst thing, if they sent me out to the barns to scoop horse manure for the rest of my program, I’d be happy," he said. "It feels so good to not have to be looking for 20 dollars to get well. I’m not dope sick anymore, so life is pretty good."

Like many people who've struggled with addiction, Trevor's teeth were in bad shape when he arrived at the JVA.

Trevor Gordon

"I would have died with those teeth in my mouth and this happening is something I would have never been able to do in my wildest dreams," he said.

That wild dream – having a smile he can be proud of that matches on the outside how he feels on the inside. Helping him on one major part of the transformative journey, Dr. Sam Bollwinkel.

Dr. B started his non-profit community of Smiles Outreach two years ago to help people just like Trevor. He started working with the students at the JVA a year ago and will oversee them from start to finish.

"Change their smile and if we can change their smile, we can change their confidence. We can change their trajectory," he said. "When they come out of the JVA program now, they really have a fresh start."

Dr. B completely rebuilt Trevor's smile in just one day.

"We can do crowns same day. We can 3D print crowns," he said. We have technology that does CT imaging, so we can treat infections and abscesses. We can provide care that’s top of the line that any private practice would love to have, and we’re doing it in the non-for-profit environment."

Dr. Sam Bollwinkel

His care isn't complete, but he's well on his way. The before and afters are shocking, especially for Trevor, who hadn't seen himself like this in years.

"It was really cool for me, but it was even better," said Gordon. "I got to FaceTime my mother. I got to FaceTime and my mom cried for like, something good instead of like, ‘Oh, no. He’s in jail again.’ So to make her cry for something good, it was pretty amazing. I don’t have to be reminded of those things every day. The person that I see in my head of myself has a nice smile."

The change here is not just cosmetic, along with the confidence boost, his overall health will improve.

"Being able to put teeth back in his mouth,it will allow him to be able to chew foods again and be able to get the nutrition and get away from the diet that creates the health compromise," said. Dr. Bollwinkel. "It’s everything."

Tevor has a few more months left in the program. His plans moving forward are to enjoy life, give back, stay strong and reconnect with family and friends.

"To build those relationships back, that’s something I can’t really say enough about," he said. "That’s something I never thought I’d get back." 

Trevor Gordon

And lastly, not going a day without a smile.

"What will it do? I don’t know for sure, but I know whatever it is, it will be more than whatever would have been possible without it," said Gordon. "I like to say I work hard, and I can work my way into anything. All I know is I’m better for it and incredibly blessed and lucky for it."