2022 Florida Mission of Mercy

By Anabel Sanchez-Senofonte, BS, We Care Network Case Manager

The Florida Mission of Mercy, a large-scale, three-day, professional dental clinic, provided free dental care to any patient. It was held from March 10th to March 12th, 2022, at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. I had the opportunity to volunteer on a clinic day and to assist with the setup. Each day started early, but all the volunteers were cheerful and in good spirits. It also helped that the patients were excited and grateful to be there. Some patients were first-time participants while others had been to this event in previous years. The Florida Mission of Mercy started in Tampa, Florida in 2014, and changes location each year to serve a different community in need of dental care.

As a volunteer, I was given a tour so that I could get a sense of the layout and how the event would run. I was impressed by the way the volunteers transformed the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, that I usually recognize as a basketball arena for college games, to a fully-functioning dental facility. The layout was divided into two venues. One half was for patient registration, dental education, waiting, x-rays, and medical triage. The second half was sectioned off by blue dividers labeled for each dental specialty provided. I saw specialties that included cleanings, fillings, extractions, root canals, periodontics, and even oral surgery. It was incredible to see all of the supplies and equipment that were secured for the event by the Florida Dental Association (FDA) Foundation. I discovered that the FDA receives cash or in-kind donations from sponsors and donors, but 2022 was the first year that the Florida state budget included FDA 2022 Florida Mission of Mercy for $225,000. The event provided $1.79 million in donated dental care.

I loved seeing the working mechanics of the event. The event also had a section for dental hygiene education, which patients found helpful. Dental education could have been easily overlooked, but I realized it was one of the reasons for having the event in the first place. It addressed preventative care. This component is one of the reasons the state included the event in its budget. It provided the patients with information about preventing certain dental issues while addressing presentday critical dental problems that would otherwise land patients in emergency rooms. The latter is far costlier for the patient and to the community.

Finances are something I heard so many patients bring up when I was helping with check out. So many of the patients left anonymous, heartfelt messages for the volunteers, providers, and donors. They expressed their gratitude as I handed them their goody bags before leaving the event after treatment. One woman had a tooth with too long of a root that needed to be extracted. She expressed the physical relief she felt when one of the oral surgeons extracted the tooth. The pressure was alleviated almost immediately. She also talked about how she couldn’t afford the care needed, let alone afford dental insurance. Lack of resources to seek dental care was a common theme.

There were 1,375 patients seen and 1,367 volunteers. Seeing providers and volunteers on their feet with smiles on their faces all day truly was a humbling and invigorating experience. I also loved seeing the other third-party resource tables for patients while they waited to be seen. Second Harvest was providing food packages for some patients before they left the event. Veterans Affairs was set up because so many veterans showed up to the event to receive care. The teamwork really made this event a success. I’m so blessed to have been able to volunteer with my coworkers from the We Care Network and Capital Medical Society Foundation at the 2022 Florida Mission of Mercy.