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Connecticut Mission of
Mercy
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The scenarios faced
during MOM projects will both break and warm
hearts. It is an opportunity to come face to
face with the people who have nowhere else
to turn. For many individuals living on
small incomes or without
dental insurance, dental care is a
luxury that they cannot afford. Many go for
years, sometimes even decades without seeing
a dentist. In rural communities with a
significant impoverished population,
individuals (primarily the working poor, the
elderly, the disabled, or the uninsured) are
often left without any dental care, and face
extreme pain, discomfort, and embarrassment.
In response to the lack of access to care
and the resulting poor oral health of
thousands of indigent citizens, the
Virginia Dental Health Foundation
launched the first Mission of Mercy (MOM) in
2001 and began to “make caring visible.”
Mission of Mercy (MOM) projects have broken
two and three day records for the largest
dental outreach clinics ever conducted in
the United States. Since the inception of
the program, $7.4 million of
free dental care has been delivered
to more than 18,000 Mission of Mercy
patients. In addition to Virginia programs,
MOM programs currently exist in Kansas,
Texas, and Nebraska. In 2007, Colorado will
have its first MOM project.
Connecticut and Iowa are planning MOM
projects for 2008. Mission of Mercy projects
are conducted in identified, underserved
areas where there are not enough dental
practitioners to adequately address the
oral health needs of the community.
Any individual who is able to show up on
site is considered eligible. The intentions
of Mission of Mercy projects are not to
judge, but rather to serve. The need for
charitable dental care in Connecticut is no
different. Ironically, thousands of
Connecticut residents have difficulty
accessing dental care, for the same reasons
faced by others in less affluent states. For
this reason, the Connecticut State Dental
Association (CSDA) is embarking upon its
first Mission of Mercy project, scheduled
for April, 2008. There is no answer for the
provision of dental care for adults on the
horizon. For this reason alone a MOM project
will provide care to those who have no hope
of receiving care through our present
health care system. The numbers of
adults and children are staggering and it is
the hope of the Connecticut Dental
Association to help those in need of oral
health care.
As you know, the event will be held on
New Haven from Apirl 15th to the
19th with the clinic being open from the
17th to the 18th (5 am to 5 pm) at the New
Haven Fieldhouse
480 Sherman Parkway, New Haven, CT.
Those who are interested in volunteering
can contact Dr.
Richmond Hung or
Dr. 0Jerry Alexander who is in
charge of volunteers. Or the can go
directly to the CSDA Web Page where there
is a sign up sheet starting in November,
2008.
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