Two Free Dental Clinics Awarded $92,000 in Grants from Hartford Foundation

With an estimated one in three Connecticut residents without dental insurance, two free clinics scheduled this year in Waterbury and Hartford may set records for treatment.  

The fourth Connecticut Mission of Mercy clinic will be held Saturday and Sunday, April 16 - 17, at Wilby High School, 460 Bucks Hill Road, Waterbury, 6:00am - 6:00pm both days. 

The third annual Inner City Dental clinic will be held Saturday, May 21, at Community Health Services, 500 Albany Ave., Hartford, 7:00am - 7:00pm. 

Grants totaling $92,000 have been awarded by the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to help support the clinics, which operate on a first-come, first-served basis. 

A 2010 study by the federal National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated 45 million Americans under age 65 do not have dental insurance. Evidence of this was seen at  last year’s two-day Mission of Mercy held in Middletown, where 1,725 of 2,052 patients lacked dental insurance. Another 116 had some kind of insurance but could not afford the deductible or co-pay. More than 1,100 had not received dental care in more than two years.

 The Connecticut Mission of Mercy is operated by the Connecticut Foundation for Dental Outreach which raises funds and last year recruited more than 1,600 dental professionals and volunteers to provide services. 

The three previous Connecticut Mission of Mercy clinics, all supported by the Hartford Foundation, were held in Tolland, New Haven and Middletown, with a total of more than $2.3 million in dental services provided to almost 5,000 people. Services are available to any state resident on a first-come, first-serve basis, and include cleanings, fluoride treatments, digital x-rays, fillings, extractions, root canals and interim partial dentures. Last year, 8,239 procedures were performed, including 1,180 extractions.

 The Inner City clinic is sponsored by Community Health Services, a private, nonprofit, federally qualified, full-service health center, the second oldest health center in the state. While its almost 18,000 clients live mainly in its primary coverage area of North Hartford - designated a Dental Health Professional Shortage area by the federal government - it serves clients throughout Greater Hartford. At each of its previous two clinics, a volunteer staff of more than 70 has treated approximately 200 patients. Last year’s clinic also received support from the Hartford Foundation.

 The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for the 29-town Greater Hartford region, dedicated to improving the quality of life for area residents for the past 85 years. The Foundation receives gifts from thousands of generous individuals and families and awards grants to a broad range of area nonprofit organizations.  For more information about the Hartford Foundation, visit www.hfpg.org or call 860-548-1888.