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BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) – Sunnybrook Dentistry hosted a free dental clinic at its Biloxi-based facility Sunday. The service is part of the company’s 8th annual Sharing Smiles Day. The one-day clinic was made available to children and adults in South Mississippi who are uninsured or underinsured.
Volunteer clinicians and hygienists were on hand from 9 am to 1 pm to assist with cleanings, limited emergency care, extractions, restorative care, and dental exams.
Sunnybrook’s unpaid staff dedicates their time and efforts each year to help with the event. Associate Dentist, Dr. Tom Sagrera says it’s all for a great cause.
“We volunteer for this day; we’re not paid to come to work on this Sunday,” he says. “We have families to be with and other things that we could be doing, but we try to put emphasis on the patients as well.”
A visit to the dentist can be costly, so Sagrera finds this to be an effective solution to help the community.
“We have a lot of patients that we see that sometimes don’t have coverage for dental services either through Medicaid or commercial insurance,” says Sagrera. “Some of them have paid out of pocket, but by then we have a certain number of patients that don’t have the ability to pay. And when we can get them in and get some services done for them.”
Dr. Sagrera also stresses the importance for people with dental insurance to take full advantage of the access they have. He finds that many parents never follow-up with their children’s check-up, which can result in long-term problems.
“Some people with Medicaid are bringing their kids to the dentist or not having the treatment plan done in a timely manner,” he says. “Sometimes they just blow it off.”
This year, nearly 20 families in the Biloxi area signed up for the free dental care. If you’d like to get information about future dental clinic events with Sunnybrook Dentistry, visit www.SharingSmilesDay.com.
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