Huge crowds turn out for free dental event in Phoenix
Huge crowds of people gathered for a free dental event in Phoenix over the weekend. The Mission of Mercy event, which took place over the weekend of the 8th/9th December, was organised by the Arizona Mission of Mercy.
Over the course of the weekend, hundreds of people poured through the doors to see dental professionals, with many waiting patiently in line for hours before registration began at 6am. It is estimated that the team of volunteers treated around 2,000 people, donating thousands of dollars’ worth of free dental care to people who could not afford to see a dentist.
Jose Hernandez was one of the hundreds to benefit from the clinic, which was organised by the Mission of Mercy in association with the Arizona Dental Association. He had suffered from toothache for months before arriving at the clinic, where he was provided with root canal treatment. Jose, like most others around them at the event, wasn’t able to afford the cost of treatment at a dental office, and the Mission of Mercy offered a solution to relieve him from further pain.
Executive director of the Arizona Dental Association, Kevin Earle, said that since 2010, when benefits were removed, there has been a significant increase in the number of patients resorting to drastic measures, such as going to the Emergency Room for treatment. Many people are now living below the poverty line, and dental treatment has become an unaffordable luxury.
At the event, around $2 million worth of treatment was provided free of charge.
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