Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Florida Mission of Mercy a Huge Success

By Dr. Douglas Manning, Regional Executive Director, DentaQuest Florida


Eight members of the DentaQuest Florida team volunteered along with many other dental providers and non-dental volunteers from around the state and country to support the Florida Dental Association’s Mission of Mercy (MOM) clinic in Tampa over the weekend. Over 1,600 children and adults received dental cleanings, extractions, fillings and root canals.  The event provided over $1 million of free care.

Struggles with access to affordable oral health care are a documented challenge in Florida, and events like this Mission of Mercy are one of the few options for those unable to access care. A recent study found that more than 139,000 Floridians were treated in 2012 in hospital emergency departments for oral health problems that could have been treated in a dental office or clinic, or avoided altogether with preventive oral health care.

DentaQuest would like to thank the Florida Dental Association and its Foundation for all their hard work in organizing the event.  The DentaQuest team was honored to be a part of an event that provided much needed care to so many. While we acknowledge that these Missions of Mercy free care clinics are a poor substitute for regular, ongoing oral health care, our team is ready, willing and able to participate in future events like this.