Mission of Mercy dental project visits Emporia

A Mission of Mercy dental outreach project was held in the Greensville County High School gymnasium in Emporia, Va., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008.

The MOM project is a collaborative effort of the Southside Dental Society, the Virginia Dental Association and the MCV/VCU School of Dentistry. Held in response to the shortage of dental-care access in Southside Virginia, the event provided more than $241,655 in donated dental care.

More than 50 treatment chairs were used by at least 53 dentists, 22 hygienists, 39 dental assistants and 55 dentistry and dental hygiene students to provide care to more than 447 adults and 39 children. In all, at least 225 volunteers donated their time and efforts.

A wide range of dental services were provided, including basic restorative, hygiene, oral surgery, patient education and referrals for extended treatment.

Additional support was provided by Benco Dental; local community service organizations, such as the Emporia Rotary Club and Beta Sigma Phi Sorority; and family and friends of local dentists.

Funding for the MOM project was made by grants from the Virginia Dental Health Foundation and the Greensville Memorial Foundation. A coalition of community service organizations was coordinated and mobilized by Jamie Neal, wife of Emporia dentist Harold Neal.

To get the event under way, meetings were held with the directors of social services in Greensville, Southampton and Brunswick counties. The three directors assisted in securing funds for the production and distribution of brochures describing the MOM project. The brochures were distributed to physicians' offices, health departments, area churches and to children in the counties' schools to take home to their families. Ministers were encouraged to include the MOM project in their sermons.

Patients were screened and pre-registered for the event starting Friday night, Oct. 31, and by 9 a.m. Saturday, more than 75 people had to be turned away because of the huge response. One young man traveled from Florida to receive oral surgery.

More than $14.4 million in donated dental care has been provided to the underserved in Virginia through 37 MOM projects since the program's inception in 2000.

The Virginia MOM project serves as a model for projects in eight other states. If you are interested in volunteering in a MOM project, visit the VDA's Web site at www.vadental.org.

The Tri-Cities and Chesterfield County dentists who participated in the program were:

Dr. Richard Bates

Dr. Shannon Bowman

Dr. Reed Boyd

Dr. Wayne Browder

Dr. Bill Callery

Dr. David Ellis

Dr. Jonathan Ellis

Dr. David Ferry

Dr. Sam Galstan

Dr. Scott Gerard

Dr. Mike Hanley

Dr. Tommy Leftwich

Dr. Marci Morris

Dr. Ellen Oertel

Dr. Wright Pond

Dr. David Prugh

Dr. Randy Ragsdale

Dr. Richard Roadcap

Dr. Jay Slagle

Dr. Earl Shufford

Dr. Ronald Terry

Dr. Brad Trotter

Dr. Kelly Vernon

Dr. Sharone Ward

Dr. Melanie Wexel

Dr. Kent Yandle