Virginia Dental Affiliation Basis volunteers deal with sufferers on the free annual clinic in Smart County.
The primary occasion of its sort right here, “Piedmont Smiles” will present cleanings, fillings, extractions, oral surgical procedure and endodontic providers. Adults from Fauquier, Culpeper, Rappahannock, Madison and Orange counties might be eligible.
“In our area, there’s an incredible want for accessible dental care,” Fauquier Free Clinic Director Rob Marino mentioned. “Oral well being is an integral part of total well being; it impacts your bodily well being, psychological well being, and might even affect social or financial prospects.”
For greater than three million uninsured adults in Virginia, accessible and reasonably priced dental care stays tough to obtain, Mr. Marino mentioned.
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“For the reason that starting of the pandemic, dental well being has been placed on the again burner for a lot of,” mentioned Dr. Tontra Lowe, dental director for Piedmont Smiles. “We hope to convey it again to the foreground.
“Whereas Piedmont Smiles isn’t a everlasting answer to the problem of accessible dental care, we hope that the occasion will tackle any pressing points for our group members whereas bringing consciousness to the fact that uninsured folks in Virginia face.”
The free clinic lately has made enlargement of dental providers a precedence.
The Virginia Dental Affiliation Basis, the PATH Basis, the Hillsdale Fund, the Virginia Well being Care Basis and the Culpeper Wellness Basis will present assist for the one-day, pop-up occasion. Drs. Woodside and Sentz, Griffin and Errera Orthodontics, Digital Mobilizations, Dr. Lowe of Superior Smiles and Fauquier Well being additionally will assist fund the clinic.
Affected person registration will happen in individual starting at 7 a.m. the day of the occasion, however sufferers can go to http://www.piedmontsmiles.org to enroll to obtain e-mail or textual content message alerts with reminders and extra occasion info forward of time.
These eager about volunteering for the occasion, together with dentists, hygienists, endodontists and non-dental volunteers, can go to the PATH Foundation’s Volunteer Hub for particulars and to register.
Go to www.piedmontsmiles.org for extra details about the occasion, together with often requested questions and occasion fundraising info.
The state dental affiliation’s basis has coordinated a free, two-day Mission of Mercy dental clinic in Smart that has handled greater than 100,000 sufferers in Southwest Virginia over twenty years. However, for the second 12 months in a row, organizers have cancelled the clinic in Smart County due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
