Hundreds queue for hours for Cedar Rapids Mission of Mercy dental clinic

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Hundreds of people waited patiently in line for the latest Mission of Mercy dental clinic, which took place in Cedar Rapids over the course of the weekend (29/30th September).

Patients who were eager to take advantage of the availability of free dental services started to appear late on Thursday evening in order to secure a slot at the clinic, which opened early on Friday morning. Some people had travelled for hours to get to the US Cellular Center and crowds waited patiently for volunteers to open the doors at 6am.

The annual event, which is hosted by the Mission of Mercy in association with the Iowa Dental Association, provides free dental services, including cleaning treatments, routine checks, fillings and extractions. For most of the beneficiaries, this is the only route available, as they cannot afford to see a dentist on a regular basis.

The US Cellular Center was converted into a temporary dental clinic for the weekend, with 100 portable dental chairs in place and a team of hundreds of volunteers. Dentists and nurses work from 6am until round 7pm, seeing as many patients as possible and donating thousands of dollars’ worth of dental care. This year, the team was aiming to help more than 1,000 people over the course of the 2-day event. In total, the Iowa Dental Association has provided more than $8.5 million worth of treatment over the last decade.

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