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Mission of mercy
It’s a Thursday evening outside the La Crosse Arena and the line is already forming. By tomorrow morning, it will stretch around the entire building. What’s going on, a rock concert?
Actually, everyone is here to see a dentist. Welcome to the first Wisconsin Dental Association Mission of Mercy, held in La Crosse, Wis. Two days, 1,533 patients, $850,000 in dental work— cleanings, fillings, extractions (a lot of extractions)—all done free of charge, thanks to the generosity of 903 volunteers, including a team of students and professors from Marquette’s School of Dentistry.
“We were doing dentistry to the point of exhaustion,” says oral surgeon and Marquette faculty member Dr. Joseph Best. “We all have a feeling of the need that’s out there, but it’s a little more concrete when it’s right there in your face.”
Third-year dental student Ryan Dulde was among those who put in 10- to 12-hour days assisting with “M*A*S*H dentistry,” as he calls it. “The first question you ask yourself is, ‘How are these people getting by in the system we have now?’” Dulde says.
The fact is, many aren’t. They’re under- or uninsured and don’t have access to a dentist.
At Marquette’s low-cost dental clinics, “We see people come in all the time who don’t take good careof their teeth,” says third- year dental student Elizabeth McCourt. “But at the Mission of Mercy, it was kind of to the extreme. Some people hadn’t seen dentists in 15 or 20 years.”
“Part of the reason for the event was not only to treat them, but to bring some attention to this issue,” says Dr. Mike Grady, a restorative dentist and Marquette faculty member.
There were stories of heartbreak, like that of the 19-year-old who needed all of his teeth removed. They got the uppers out, but then had to quit. He’d had enough.
But there were also stories of hope. A mom who had painful cavities filled Friday coming back Saturday for a cleaning, bringing her two children for treatment. People getting missing teeth replaced and feeling confident enough to smile again. Or Steven, a middle-aged man who was first in line Thursday night, spent all day Friday in treatment and then came back Saturday to volunteer.
“He was able to pay with his time even if he couldn’t pay with his money,” Dulde says, adding that the impact on many patients went beyond the physical. “You could tell that socially and emotionally, these people had made a 180-degree change.”
Adds McCourt, “People who stood in line for hours were so grateful. That was part of what made it such a great experience. It validated the fact that I’ll really be able to help people as a dentist.” — JS
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