Listen to this articleMaryland dentists will donate their time and services to provide free dental care to hundreds of Eastern Shore residents in collaboration with volunteer hygienists and other staff at the Eastern Shore Mission of Mercy on Sept. 13 and 14.
The event is being held at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center, 500 Glen Ave., in Salisbury. Patients will begin being seen at 7 a.m.
Maryland Missions of Mercy are gatherings of volunteer dental professionals who, along with a volunteer staff of several hundred, hold free, two-day dental clinics at locations around the state. This is the first large-scale Mission of Mercy that has been held since the COVID-19 pandemic. Smaller Missions of Mercy have been held in various locations across Maryland.
Maryland State Dental Association members have helped to support and provide care at Mission of Mercy events across the state, from the Eastern Shore to western Maryland. The Missions of Mercy not only provide free dental care but help educate patients and raise awareness about oral health inequities.
The Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore and CareFirst are sponsoring the event.
The Eastern Shore Mission of Mercy was first held in 2013. The first three events provided more than $3 million in services with the help of more than 3,000 volunteers giving more than 23,500 hours of their time. The 2019 Eastern Shore Mission of Mercy provided treatment to more than 1,100 patients and more than $1.126 million worth of services were provided.
