Making Smiles at Sonora Regional Medical Center’s 2nd Annual Free Dental Clinic
March 1, 2011
Sonora,
California
Sonora Regional Medical Center offered free dental services at the Forest Road Dental Clinic in February, giving patients plenty of reasons to smile. The Medical Center invited area dentists and dental hygienists to volunteer their time and skills to serve local Medi-Cal patients who would otherwise go without preventative and restorative dental care. “We’re here to make somebody smile today,” said Dr. Blong Ly, one of the volunteer dentists.
The Free Dental Clinic ran for two days in February – Sunday, February 13, for registered dental hygienists to provide cleanings and Sunday, February 27, for dentists to provide restorative procedures such as fillings. This is the second year the Medical Center has offered this free service to Medi-Cal patients after state budget cuts in 2009 reduced dental coverage for adults to emergency services only with no coverage for preventative or restorative care.
“I am grateful for our local dentists and dental hygienists who so willingly give back to our community through their volunteerism, helping our residents who are unable to afford dental care,” said Jeff Eller, Sonora Regional Medical Center president and CEO. In all, eight dental hygienists and eight dentists volunteered at the clinic, providing 81 patients with over $25,000 worth of dental care.
The Medical Center would like to thank the following dental professionals for volunteering and helping to make the Free Dental Clinic a success:
Nancy Burton, RDH
Brainard Duncan, DDS
Elizabeth “Leisa” Foutz, RDH
Michael French, DDS
Nancy Gonsalves, RDH
Karen Kallas, RDH
Dwight Klump, DDS
Blong Ly, DDS
Wayne Mathe, DDS
Larry Moe, DDS
Laurie Morrison, RDH
Michael Morrison, DDS
Stacey Ormond, RDH
Jerusha Waelty, RDH
John Wanzo, DDS
Linda Wearin, RDH
