‘Dental Access Days’ Comes to Annapolis
By SHANTEE WOODARDS Staff Writer
Area dentists will give fillings, extractions and other services to roughly 200 people at the Stanton Center this week.
These patients are people who have been waiting for appointments at Anne Arundel Medical Center’s dental clinic at the Stanton Center. But because volunteer dentists only work there two days a week, the needs have been growing along with the patient backlog.
Now, the list of patients is being sent to area alumni from the Florida-based Pankey Institute for Continuing Dental Education, which conducts similar outreach efforts around the country. They have agreed to treat patients 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Stanton Center.
The institute’s first event was held earlier in Atlanta, with Annapolis as its second stop. Organizers said they hope to soon launch a nationwide effort.
The local patients have already been contacted about the event and must show proof they are underinsured or within income guidelines.
“The need is pretty high and they’re always backed up,” said Dr. Albert Lee, a Pankey alumnus and with an office on Forest Drive. “We thought we’d give them a boost and see if we could take a couple of hundred patients. That’s probably a year’s work or a year and half’s work.”
About 40 dentists are expected to volunteer, with about 15 at the clinic each day. Ten mobile dental chairs will be set up in the gym so patients can be treated there, in addition to the clinic, where there are two dental chairs. The volunteer dentists will be coming from Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Virginia.
AAMC opened its free dental clinic for adults in 2006. It is open to people over age 18 who are uninsured or who meet income guidelines. The clinic is open on Wednesdays and Fridays and offers basic care, such as exams, X-rays, cleanings, fillings and treating infections. Patients who require more work are referred to area dentists who have agreed to see clinic patients. Since its opening, more than 1,400 people have been treated there.
The upcoming event is part of the new Pankey Dental Access Days, which provides dental services to the underserved around the country. The first one was held at an Atlanta church in April.
In the Pankey newsletter, organizers solicited alumni for equipment like orthodontic chairs, dental units, X-rays and instrument carts.
“We envision a nationwide program that will provide free dental care to several thousand people each year,” said faculty member and organizer Dr. Keith Phillips, in a prepared statement. “(People) who have no other access to dental services – all provided by dentists who believe that giving back to needy individuals in their communities is an important part of their responsibility as a dental professional.” {Corrections:} {Status:}
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