A statewide nonprofit will be providing free dental care to underserved Pennsylvanians in the Lehigh Valley later this week.
The organization MOM-n-PA will be holding a freedental “mission of mercy” event on June 2-3 from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Allentown Fairgrounds Agri-Plex, located at 302 N. 17th St. in Allentown. Doors open at 6 a.m.
The nonprofit said this week’s clinic will be its 10th dental mission, and it marks a return to the Lehigh Valley. MOM-n-PA’s second-ever mission took place in Allentown in 2014.
Dr. Charles Incalcaterra, community co-chair of MOM-n-PA, recently spoke about the dental clinic with WDIY, and said he hopes for a repeat of 2014’s success.
“In 2014 that was the most successful mission that’s been held in all of Pennsylvania, and we were able to serve over 2,040 patients in those two days and provide over 1.1 million dollars in free dental care,” Incalcaterra said.
“So, our scope of practice this year is to try and repeat that, to try and attract another 2,000 patients over the two days, and to provide the free care.”
He said a majority of procedures performed during the clinic are dental cleanings, fillings, and extractions, as well as a limited number of dentures, denture repairs and root canals, if the patient’s teeth are still restorable. Services are available for both adults and children.
Incalcaterra said patients will be seen on a first-come first serve basis, and no appointments will be taken.
Patients don’t have to live in the Allentown area or the Lehigh Valley to receive care, and will only need to provide their name, a phone number, and an address in case any follow-up services are required.
Incalcaterra said people receiving dental care will not be asked to show an ID.
“We don’t ask for an ID at all, so there are some patients who are undocumented, and we will not discriminate against anybody coming in for care,” he explained.
MOM-n-PA says it has completed over 46,000 procedures for over 12,000 patients, and has provided over $7.5 million worth of dental care.
The organization uses volunteer teams of dentists, oral surgeons, and other dental professionals, medical and community lay volunteers to provide services in its free clinics.
Previous dental missions have been held in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Erie, Reading, Wilkes-Barre, and York.
(Original air-date: 5/30/23)
