Patients camp out for Mission of Mercy
By Amanda Dyslin, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Pierre had driven from her home in
"I'm missing tons of teeth," Sonnee said. "I'm really hoping something will work out. ... It was always my dream to actually have these teeth."
Mission of Mercy sets up large-scale dental clinics in various communities and offers free services to children and adults who don't have access to them. The organization has returned to
Sonnee, who is missing most of her molars, said she hasn't had dental insurance for many years. As her dental health declined, she started losing teeth and is now missing 11 in all.
When researching possibilities for getting her teeth fixed online, she came across Mission of Mercy and said it was "an absolute blessing."
"It's a tremendous gift," Pierre said.
Volunteers worked part of Wednesday setting up certain structural needs of the 124-chair dental clinic, and they worked all day Thursday on everything from wiring, to setting up stations, to dispersing supplies, said Carmelo Cinqueonce, executive director of the
About 1,000 volunteers have signed up to help with the event. About 20-25 percent of the volunteers are dentists. Others are hygienists, technicians, other medical personnel and community members.
He also remembers one woman in particular who had been missing a front tooth for 20 years and received a partial at Mission of Mercy.
"She was crying. Everybody was crying," Aguirre said.
If you go What Free dental services provided by Mission of Mercy When Beginning
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