Another great effort by all in Wise! Over 425 volunteers traveled from throughout Virginia and from 12 states (including WI, MI, IN, FL, KY, In, TN, NY, DC, MO and NC) to make this event possible. And, though patients were predominantly from Virginia, many others made the trip from a total of 15 states (as far away as Georgia, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania). 1,382 patients received dental care valued at $1.5 million during the 3 day project. 1,963 fillings 3,575 extractions 331 cleanings and gross debridements 249 fluoride varnishes 33 root canals/pulpotomies
Treatment included: 52 complete denture sets 17 complete dentures 20 partials 1,264 panorex/bite-wings/PAs
From 2000-2011, the 12 missions to Wise have provided 14,979 patients with over $11 million in free dental care. We wish to thank each and every volunteer for sharing your time, talent and treasure. You ARE “making a difference.” Through 54 completed MOM projects 42,586 patients have received dental care valued at $24.9 million!!
Our Weekend in Wise County, Virginia Last year, I read an article in the Washington Post about the efforts of Remote Area Medical (RAM) and the Missions of Mercy (MOM) in Wise County, Virginia, and wanted to become involved. When I told my 28-year old daughter, Emily, she was excited to help as my assistant. We knew that many of the people in this part of the country had little access to dental care, and that there would be many people in need of our services. So we registered for the event on July 22-24, 2011, and were amazed to see how many people were lined up, waiting overnight in their cars, hoping to be seen by a dentist. While we saw a few people that had good dental health and needed simple restorations, most of the people we treated were in very poor dental health. We tried to do as much as possible on each patient with the restorative options available, but many needed more advanced procedures. We saw one young woman who was my daughter’s age and already needed a full denture.
Outreach
By: David Rothkopf, DDS; Washington, DC
Emily and I engaged in a conversation with everyone we treated. We wanted to get to know them as human beings—not just teeth that needed fixing. We asked the people about their jobs and their families, if they had health insurance, and how the current economy had impacted them. No one had health insurance, and many were disabled. One man said that his workweek had been reduced from 40 to 39 hours, and he had lost his eligibility for medical/ dental benefits. We truly cared about every person that we treated and were saddened that these good, decent Americans had no access to health care, which is a basic human need. We are committed to doing as much for the people of this region as we can, and will continue to be part of future RAM/MOM events.
Volume 88, Number 4 • October, November & December 2011
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