Many of us just assume that when we need dental care, we'll have access to it. But take a minute and think about if you had a toothache, and you couldn’t quickly schedule an appointment. Some slight discomfort quickly becomes unbearable pain, so you go to the only place you can think of for care-the emergency room. Since they're not equipped to provide dental care, they simply send you home with painkillers and antibiotics and the problem continues to worsen.
Familiar with this cycle, Dr. Daniel Pituch, MD, DMD, immediate past president of medical staff of UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside and a co-founder of Face2Face Healing, Dr. Richard M. Celko, DMD, MBA, dental director, UPMC Health Plan; and Michael Zamagias, chairman and chief executive officer, TeleTracking Technologies Inc., saw the need to provide an annual dental care event for the community.
In 2017, Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh (MOMPGH) was launched and 672 volunteers delivered vital dental care to 885 patients over the course of two days at the A.J. Palumbo Center. The need for this care was proven by the fact that patients started lining up the night before.
Looking to help even more people this year, MOMPGH 2018 was held June 29
th and 30
th at PPG Paints Arena with TeleTracking as the founding sponsor and Presenting Sponsors UPMC Health Plan, UPMC and PNC. "We knew we needed more space, so we could care for more patients," says Keith Young, senior vice president of human resources at TeleTracking. "With the bigger venue, we were able to expand the clinic from 50 to 80 chairs, as well as expand the waiting and registration areas to make it a better overall experience.”
Over the course of the two days, more than 1,200 volunteers, including 133 dentists, helped deliver dental care to more than 1,000 patients. Once again, this year, patients, from young children to senior citizens, started lining up the night before to receive services such as minor restorative fillings, root canals, extractions and cleanings.
“Many of the people who we served are from working families who do not have access to dental care or cannot afford dental insurance,” continues Young. “This event can be life-changing for patients who are living with unimaginable pain and are afraid to smile. And by making this an annual event, the community knows that once a year they can count on us for compassionate care and move on to a better chapter in their lives.”
A common site over the two days were patients embracing their dentist, volunteers listening empathetically and nurses delivering critical screenings. Positive feedback from the patients included:
* A gentleman who hasn't been to a dentist in a while said, "I haven't seen this amount of kindness in a long time."
* Another woman was so thankful for being able to receive a free root canal for her impacted tooth. She saved up her money for over a year but still could not afford the professional care she needed. She said, "You guys saved me because I was able to come in and get a free root canal."
* Another patient said “I’m so thankful for the event and volunteers. All around it was a great experience and I can’t show enough gratitude for the whole event.”
"The event is important to patients, but the volunteers get just as much out of this as the patients do. We’ve already had people reaching out saying they want to volunteer again next year," adds Young.
To find out how you can become a volunteer for the 2019 event, or make a donation, please visit
www.mompgh.org.