Eastern Shore Mission of Mercy set for March 14-16 at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center

The Eastern Shore Dental Society is very proud to have initiated and be sponsoring the inaugural Eastern Shore Mission of Mercy 2013, a totally free and comprehensive adult (must be 18 years of age or older) dental clinic at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center beginning Thursday, March 14 and concluding by Saturday, March 16. There are no appointments available and all services will be on a first come, first served basis. Absolutely no children will be permitted in the Civic Center during the clinic hours. Please make other arrangements for any necessary child care. The clinic will be staffed by fully licensed dentists and dental hygienists, supported by a variety of other medical professionals.

The actual dental clinic will open with a patient pre-screening on Thursday, March 14 from 1:00pm-4:00pm. Pre-screening services will be limited to patient registration, x-ray and preliminary examination. Patients who attend the pre-screening and who return for treatment on Friday and Saturday will be given first in line status. The full clinic will open for registration on both Friday, March 15 and Saturday, March 16 at 6:00am. Again, all services will be on a first come, first served basis and no children will be permitted on-site.

While the dental clinic will offer a full array of oral health care services including cleanings, fillings, extractions and dentures, there may be a limit to the extent of individual services that may be provided based on an individual’s condition, health and time constraints. Every attempt will be made to prioritize patient dental needs and resolve as many problems as possible within the time and physical limits of this clinic.

All professional services will be provided through the generous donation of time by dentists and hygienists from the mid-Atlantic region. There will be no charge for services and no insurance is required.

Based on the number of patient cases that are served by the clinic on both Friday and Saturday, the registration tables may be closed earlier than the close of the clinic itself and we apologize or anyone who is unable to benefit from this amazing community service program.

In addition to the dental clinic, a general health and wellness fair will also be offered attendees while they are waiting for dental services. This health fair will include medical professionals from regional hospitals and institutions offering higher education, medical curriculum.

The Mission of Mercy (MOM) program was developed in Virginia in 2000 and since has spread to many state dental societies across the country. The Maryland State Dental Society has promoted three MOM programs; two in Western Maryland and one in Southern Maryland this past June. The three Maryland clinics each served approximately 800 adult patients during their two days of operations. Larger metropolitan MOM clinics have been able to serve upwards of 2,000 individuals. It is anticipated that the Eastern Shore Mission of Mercy will serve approximately 1,200 individuals.

This Mission of Mercy program will be made possible through the generous donation of time from hundreds of community volunteers along with the donations of funds, goods and services to support the anticipated $125,000 overall budget cost for this service. We are most pleased to be partnering with the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore who will receive all donations on a tax deductible basis.

Should you have any further questions, or need additional information, please feel free to check out our web site at www.easternshoremissionofmercy.org.