Most mornings, our Mobile Dental vans full of volunteers and staff go out to serve patients in Oregon and Washington. Recently, we had the privilege of meeting Tracy, one such patient.

“Thank you for having these vans available for the people who need it.”

This was Tracy’s 4th visit to a Mobile Dental Clinic and she drove nearly 70 miles to be seen. She had a tooth abscess – a pocket caused by infection that can be extremely painful. Untreated, abscesses can lead to life threatening conditions. Thankfully, our mobile clinics are staffed by more than 800 volunteer dental professionals that are ready to help people like Tracy.

Tracy continues to look at the positive side of the situation, saying she looks forward to being “healthier down the road.” Although Tracy was nervous for the pain involved in a tooth extraction, she was very thankful to have it done to prevent further issues. She has a wonderfully supportive community at home that she greatly appreciates and were ready to care for her post-tooth extraction.

There is no other way she could afford this care. “Thank you for having these vans available for the people who need it,” she shared. “It is greatly appreciated.” These clinics are a miracle to her. She made a point to say she wants to give back and donate once she gets the funds to do so.

Since 1989, Medical Team International’s program has provided care to more than 293,000 children and adults who cannot afford or access dental services. 11 vans and over 300 sites make our Mobile Dental fleet the largest in the U.S. Thanks to our faithful volunteers and generous donors donating supplies, we can provide $4 worth of dental care for every $1 donated. Being able to give 4x the care multiplies the impact on our local communities.

The goals of our Mobile Dental Vans are to identify and treat those who have the greatest dental and economic need, free patients from dental pain and help them return to full and productive lives, alleviate costs and workload impact of dental related emergency room visits, and give back to our community. We are so thankful for your support in helping us achieve these goals by helping people like Tracy.