Iowa Mission of Mercy brings free dental care to Waterloo

Sept. 27--WATERLOO -- Friday was Tonia Beck's birthday, and she had a very special present in mind.

The Evansdale woman hoped to replace her five missing teeth during the Iowa Mission of Mercy's free dental clinic at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center.

But her keys had been accidentally locked in her car and she didn't have any money to get it open. Eventually, Beck convinced a sympathetic dispatcher at a towing company to send someone out to do it at no charge.

After she arrived, a dental impression was made inside her mouth so the false teeth could be created. Beck just had to wait until the new teeth could be fitted. She spent her time crocheting a blanket and thanking the volunteers that regularly passed by her seat.

"Everybody here who's volunteering, they're a blessing from God," said Beck. "It's my birthday today. I'm going to leave with my smile."

The clinic, held Friday and Saturday, was sponsored by the Iowa Dental Association. Those receiving services didn't need to prove financial hardship or present dental insurance.

About 200 dentists and 200 dental support personnel, all of whom volunteered their time, staffed the event. Among those were dental and dental-assisting students from various colleges and universities. A large number of other volunteers without a dental background helped direct people as they waited for a wide range of procedures.

"We have dentists that come from all over the state and they follow us for our Mission of Mercy," said Patty Meredith, the organization's dental chief and a faculty member at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry.

This was the seventh year the annual clinic has been held. In 2008, the inaugural year, it also took place in Waterloo.

"We came back to Waterloo because Waterloo has been identified as an area of high need," said Meredith. "Also, we came back to Waterloo because we have fabulous support."

She noted that, besides volunteers, area businesses stepped up to help with resources like providing food for the clients, who typically had to wait for hours before receiving services.

The clinic opened up at 6 a.m. both days. Officials said people started lining up outside of the convention center at 5 p.m. Thursday, and there were about 300 people in line when the clinic opened its doors Friday.

"I was here 6 o'clock (Thursday) night and I was number 11 in the door," said Rick Holderness of Iowa City. He had four front teeth pulled that were chipped or had other problems and got fitted with a row of false ones.

Craig Chilton of Evansdale also arrived early, at 2 a.m. Friday, and found 100 people in line. He spent the day getting dental work done that he estimated at costing between $3,000 and $4,000.

"Today, I got some extractions done, a root canal and a partial plate," he said, while waiting for the false teeth to be fitted into his mouth. Dental problems have long been a heavy financial burden for him. He attended the first Iowa Mission of Mercy in Waterloo as well as another one in Davenport two years ago.

"I'm on Medicare and I'm 73," said Chilton. "Basically, I don't want to spend several thousand dollars."

Carol Nielsen of Oelwein was facing similar financial problems. "There's no dental insurance for us older people," she said.

She had a cavity filled in December, and soon after the tooth broke. By early afternoon Friday, she had been waiting five hours and was close to getting the damage repaired. "It's a long wait, but I think it's going to be well worth it," said Nielsen.

Mary Horslund of Waterloo didn't mind the wait, either. She was getting two cavities filled that her dentist found during an appointment three months ago. When the follow-up appointment came around, though, she was in the hospital for an unrelated matter and never rescheduled.

"I just never got around to it, never felt like I had enough money," said the retired Covenant Medical Center employee, noting she no longer had dental insurance.

Lisa Russell, a spokeswoman for Iowa Mission of Mercy, said about 550 people had come through the clinic's door by the middle of the afternoon Friday and $242,000 worth of dental care had been completed. She noted that about 300 people were still finishing procedures at that point.

Jeff Russell, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Iowa, was at the event and said his company has been involved with Iowa Mission of Mercy since the beginning.

"We're a not-for-profit insurance company. Our mission is to provide the health and the smiles for Iowans," he said. "A lot of these people kind of fall through the cracks a little bit."

He added, "It may seem like we're working in dentistry here, but part of the mission is changing people's lives."

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