On April 11 and 12 at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage, 600 West 7th Avenue, the Alaska Dental Society, in collaboration with Anchorage Rotary and over 1,400 volunteers will provide a free clinic for people who have no access to dental care or cannot afford dental care.
This is the first year for the Alaska Mission of Mercy. Its goals are to provide free dental care for patients suffering from dental infections or pain; to raise awareness of the increasing difficulty low-income adults and children face in accessing critical dental care; and to encourage low-income patients, policymakers and dental professionals to work together on these problems.
While the two day event won’t solve the ongoing problems of access to dental care, the intention is to treat as many as 2,000 patients on a first-come, first-serve basis. The anticipated value to the recipients is $1.4 million. Because of the large number of community volunteers, including dentists and dental assistants, the hard cost will be approximately $200,000.
Clinic doors at the Dena’ina will open at 4:30 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday with treatment offered from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Appointments are not necessary or available. The number of people who can be served will be limited by capacity and there will probably be substantial waiting times.
Because the focus of the event is to relieve pain for the greatest number of patients, cosmetic dentistry, full dentures, braces and other services which are not appropriate to this setting cannot be provided. Extractions, fillings and cleanings as well as some other dental procedures will be available.
Information is available at the website AKMOM.org or via email to info@akmom.org or call 907-563-3003.
