Dentists on mission of mercy
Two local dentists headed teams which provided free dental care to thousands of people.
Dr Gary Van Hofwegen and Dr Josh Munter joined 1,200 professional dental volunteers to take part in the second Iowa Mission of Mercy.
The two-day program, which takes place annually and is the brainchild of the Iowa Dental Association, provided free dental treatment to around 1,500 people, which would have ordinarily cost $800,000.
Dr Van Hofwegen said they day was a lot of fun and Dr Munter added that they were proud to be part of the event and would be encouraging other professionals to take part next year.
It was felt by Dr Van Hofwegen that dentistry in the region is going through hard times and he said that around 50 per cent of people only visit a dentist when they’re in severe pain.
He pointed out that dental care was not included in Medicare, which meant a lot of people found it hard to find a dentist that could help them and made Mission of Mercy all the more necessary.
The dental school at University of Iowa provided a lot of equipment for the program, which took place at Iowa Speedway and aimed to help communities around the Newton area.
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