1,600 Volunteers to Provide Services such as General Health screenings, X-rays, Cleanings, Oral Surgery

More than 2,000 patients are going to line up for free dental care at the yearly clinic in Connecticut. The Connecticut Mission of Mercy is holding its 7th free clinic this Friday and Saturday at the XL Center but several people have already began lining up as early as Thursday.

Organizers said that around 1,600 volunteers will be at the XL Center to provide services such as general health screenings, X-rays, cleanings, oral surgery, temporary partial prosthetics, fillings, and extractions. The patients will be served on a first come first serve basis, which is why they are expecting a line to form at the Trumbull Street entrance as early as Thursday evening. The doors of the free clinic will be opened on Friday at 6 in the morning.

This is the seventh year that the Connecticut Mission of Mercy has provided free dental care to the uninsured and underserved in the state. Patients wouldn’t have access to dental care without the free clinic.

Organizers have stated that oral health is connected with general health and can affect the person’s self-esteem. It could also hurt their chances of getting work and living a normal life. Younger people can’t go to school because to toothache. Thousands suffer from various tooth conditions but can’t do anything about their problem because dental in the US has become too expensive. Most of them don’t have dental coverage in their insurance plans.

The first Mission of Mercy was held in 2008 through the partnership of The Connecticut State Dental Association and the Connecticut Foundation for Dental Outreach. The Connecticut Mission of Mercy said that there are thousands of people in the state that don’t have dental coverage. They don’t qualify for Medicaid and can’t afford dental services. Each year the Connecticut Mission of Mercy is held in different locations across the state.

Address of Clinic: Hartford Courant, 285 Broad Street, Hartford, CT 06115

Photo by Don Bray [Public domain], undefined