CDA Cares Free Dental Clinic

CDA Cares in partnership with Missions of Mercy
Modesto, California
May 18 & 19, 2012

CDA Cares free dental clinic set to reach underserved

CDA Cares, a new event aimed at providing free dental care to Californians in need, will be held May 18-19 in the Modesto Centre Plaza at 1000 L Street in Modesto, Calif. The event is a collaborative effort between CDA, the CDA Foundation and the national charitable organization Missions of Mercy. 

At the CDA Cares event, dental professionals will provide patients with free services such as cleanings, fillings, extractions, oral health education and assistance in finding a dental home.

The CDA Foundation, with the help of volunteer dental professionals and hundreds of lay volunteers, will produce the two-day event and rely on Missions of Mercy’s national structure for expertise, equipment and data collection. All the necessary equipment — such as chairs, lights, vacuum systems, sterilization stations and setup — are provided by Missions of Mercy; and supplies are provided, often at little or no cost, by national dental manufacturers.

CDA Cares expects to provide services for more than 1,500 patients over the two-day event. CDA Cares aims to give dentists the freedom to provide care without having to worry about logistics, supplies or scheduling. And because of the way the event is coordinated, there will be no pressure on dentists to complete a certain amount of procedures in one setting.

Many dentists across California regularly provide pro bono care to the public (an estimated $388 million in free services each year). That is significantly more than the state spent in fiscal year 2010-11 on adult Denti-Cal services (an estimated $58 million) and close to the amount spent on children (approximately $500 million).

State budget cuts eliminated most adult Denti-Cal benefits in 2009, devastating oral health services for more than 3 million poor, disabled and elderly Californians. In addition, the state eliminated school-based programs that provided dental disease prevention such as fluoride and sealants for low-income children – leaving California’s underserved population with few or no options for their dental care.

CDA is recruiting volunteer dentists, dental hygienists, assistants, students, lab technicians, nurses, pharmacists, specialists including oral surgeons, and others who are willing to donate their time and services for CDA Cares. It is estimated that close to 100 dentists each day will be needed.

If patients need extractions, there will be a dental lab set up to provide patients with limited prostheses whenever possible.

The Oregon Dental Association sponsored a Missions of Mercy free dental clinic in November of 2010. Dental professionals provided care to more than 1,500 patients in need of oral health care services during the event. Watch the video.