Another “Iowa Mission of Mercy” gets underway today at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. The executive director of the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation, Suzanne Heckenlaible, says the “I-MOM” brings together dental professionals who offer free care. She says they set up mobile dental equipment and a triage system to provide the dental care.
This is the third I-MOM event, and like the first two, this one is also on a first-come, first-served basis. Heckenlaible says they can only allow so many people in based on the number of chairs they have and the work that needs to be done. She says some of the people come in with so much work that needs to be done. The foundation Heckenliable leads has donated 50-thousand dollars to help fund this event.
Heckenlaible says it is a great way to treat immediate needs, and she says there needs to be more work done to address dental workforce shortages and access to dental care for Iowans. She says thousands of people are able to get pain relief and their dental problems fixed during the event.
The event runs from 7 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. each day. It’s expected that the dental professionals will provide over one million dollars in free care. You can find out more at: www.IowaMOM.org.