Wisconsin Dental Association: WDA Mission of Mercy provides 2,038 patients with $900,000 in free care

CONTACT: Carol S. Weber, APR, Director of Public Relations

PHONE: 414-755-4108 (direct)

E-MAIL: cweber@wda.org

WEST ALLIS, WIS., June 29, 2010 – The Wisconsin Dental Association and WDA Foundation’s second Mission of Mercy exceeded its patient goal with 2,038 children and adults receiving more than $900,000 in free dental care last Friday and Saturday, June 25 and 26, at Sheboygan North High School in Sheboygan, Wis.

Patients ranged in age from a 1-year-old boy to a 91-year-old woman. They traveled from more than 100 cities and towns across Wisconsin and several other states to obtain care at this large-scale, charitable event. The first four patients waited in line for almost 20 hours after setting up a tent at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday.

Clinic doors opened at 6 a.m. with care concluding by 5:30 p.m. both days. A total of 7,572 dental procedures were performed, including 1,540 fillings, 1,630 teeth extracted, 904 cleanings and 15 root canals. Several dental labs worked with volunteer technicians to create 96 partial dentures.

A team of 953 volunteers from 158 Wisconsin communities and 10 states provided the free care. Among the volunteers were 180 dentists, 120 dental hygienists, 160 Marquette University School of Dentistry students and numerous dental assistants and lay people.

Nineteen elected officials, including U. S. Rep. Thomas Petri (R-Fond du Lac), Sheboygan Mayor Robert Ryan, a local alderman and 16 state legislators toured the two-day event.

State Rep. Donna Seidel (D-Wausau) and Sen. Joseph Leibham (R-Sheboygan) were so energized by their MOM tours they immediately volunteered to help.

“This experience reinforced how many people are in need of dental care in our state, but it is also clear these events are not the solution to the problem.  Dental care needs to be part of comprehensive health care and we must make sure people are receiving these essential services,” said Seidel, who escorted MOM patients for several hours on Friday. “I commend the WDA and Sheboygan community on a successful event.”

“This was a fantastic event and an incredible effort by everyone involved. The concern and care exhibited by these dentists and other volunteers could only be matched by the gratitude of those receiving treatment,” commented State Rep. Steve Kestell (R-Elkhart Lake) after his MOM tour.

More than 105 organizations, businesses, dental supply companies and individuals provided monetary and in-kind donations to help cover $185,000 in dental equipment and facility rental, supplies, pharmaceuticals and food costs for the event that involved setup on June 24 and cleanup on June 27.

Collaborating partners included America’s Dentists Care Foundation, MUSOD and the Sheboygan County Dental Society, along with corporate donors American Orthodontics Corp., Delta Dental of Wisconsin in Memory of Dr. Coleman Gertler and Henry Schein Dental.

Other financial friends were Dr. Alfred Bader, Frank G. and Freida K. Brotz Family Foundation, DentaQuest, Group One Marketing and Tellier Foundation. For the second year, Kwik Trip provided all the food for patients and some for volunteers, too. A complete list of MOM 2010 donors is available on WDA.org .

“Sheboygan community businesses, organizations and residents were outstanding in their generosity, support and enthusiasm,” said WDA President-Elect and Mission of Mercy State Chair Dr. Eugene Shoemaker of Waukesha, Wis.

Tax-deductible financial donations and in-kind contributions to help support projects that provide dental care to the underserved, like Mission of Mercy, and other dental-related philanthropic endeavors in Wisconsin may be made to the WDA Foundation.

In addition to providing charitable care in their private offices and volunteering their time and skills at local community clinics and through outreach programs like Give Kids A Smile and MOM, an estimated 1,300 Wisconsin-licensed dentists provide care through the state’s dental Medicaid, BadgerCare and BadgerCare Plus medical assistance or MA programs.

About 1 million low-income individuals, or 20 percent of Wisconsin residents, are beneficiaries of MA coverage in a 12-month period. Fee-for-service data from the Department of Health and Family Service’s Dental Medicaid Fact Sheet for Fiscal Year 2006 (most recent available) shows $74 million in dental care services provided to MA patients. Participating dentists donated $42 million to the state’s MA program in FY ’06, while the state and federal governments combined paid just $32 million or only 44 percent of the charges.

The WDA offers six legislative proposals for improving access using tools such as dental education loan forgiveness, expanded function dental assistants and increased investment in the state’s MA programs.

A MOM patient named Jo wrote the following after receiving care in Sheboygan, “To all the volunteers from the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank you for making this possible. All your hard work, time and energy are so very much appreciated. I have been suffering for three years with pain and no insurance or money to pay for the work; it has been a LONG three years! After today, every time I smile I will thank God for such wonderful volunteers that made my smile appear once again!”

In speaking to volunteers last Saturday evening, Shoemaker said, “Jo is just one example of all the lives we changed in two days. Every volunteer is a unique piece in the MOM puzzle and together we make a beautiful picture.” 

Visit the Mission of Mercy Media Room on WDA.org for photos, patient comments, volunteer testimonials, videos and media coverage from this second large-scale, charitable dental care event in Wisconsin.

The WDA was established in 1870. With more than 2,900 members statewide, it represents 83 percent of all licensed, practicing dentists in Wisconsin. WDA members are committed to promoting professional excellence and quality oral health care. The WDA is headquartered in West Allis and has a legislative office in Madison. It is one of 53 constituent (state-territorial) dental societies of the American Dental Association – the largest and oldest national dental association in the world. For more information on the WDA, call 414-276-4520, visit our WDA.org website and find us on Facebook, Flickr and YouTube .