Demand for free dental clinics too high in the USA
Free dental clinics are playing an increasingly important role in oral healthcare in the USA; however, the clinics are struggling to cope with the huge demand and many are forced to turn people away.
The Mission of Mercy clinic in Iowa held a weekend long-dental event last weekend and more than 1,400 patients were treated; however, the demand far outweighed the supply and organisers were forced to turn people away.
A large number of people in Iowa are struggling to afford dental care and are going without the care they need as a result. There are free clinics in some towns but it is extremely difficult to get an appointment and the clinics struggle to help a large number of people because they do not have the funding or the resources. The Dick Parrot Free Dental Clinic is one of the clinics offering free dental care for needy people; however, it can only treat around 2,590 people per year and the demand is much higher than this.
Sandy Pickup, from the Dick Parrot Free Dental Clinic, acknowledged that there was a huge problem across America and admitted that the clinic simply couldn’t help everyone that needed dental care. John McWhinney, from the Community Health Free Clinic in Cedar Rapids, echoed Ms Pickup’s sentiments and said there were simply not enough volunteers or money to cater for everyone. The clinics are working to maximum capacity, yet the demand is still far too high. The waiting list at Cedar Rapids is currently between six and nine months.
The long queues at the Iowa Mission of Mercy event demonstrate the extent of the problem across America; some people queued overnight to make sure they got an appointment and most people who were successful had not seen a dentist in several years.
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