If you go What: Colorado Mission of Mercy’s 11th annual Free Dental Clinic When: Oct. 13 and 14. Doors open at 6 a.m. and remain open until clinic is at capacity which is reached early in the day. No appointments. Where: Colorado State Fairgrounds, 1001 Beulah Ave. in Pueblo. Cost: Free. More info: Doors open at 6 a.m., but it is recommended that individuals arrive at least two hours prior to doors opening. Bring water, soft foods, a book and a chair or blanket for the wait time. Patients are seen on a first come, first served basis. For more information, visit www.comom.org or call 720-648-0919.

Colorado Mission of Mercy hosted its ninth annual free dental clinic in August 2015 in Cañon City, and organizers are gearing up for the 11th annual event that will be this year in Pueblo.

The public is invited to COMOM’s 11th annual free dental clinic Oct. 13-14 at the Colorado State Fairgrounds, located at 1001 Beulah Ave., in Pueblo. Doors open at 6 a.m. and remain open until the clinic is at capacity, which is reached early in the day. It is recommended that individuals arrive at least two hours prior to doors opening. No appointments are accepted. Patients are advised to bring water, snacks, a book and a chair or blanket for the wait time. Patients are seen on a first-come, first-served basis.

The event is open to everyone, free of charge, said Penrose dentist Dr. Alex VanAcker, who will volunteer in his sixth COMOM event.

“Anyone can come to the clinic, no questions asked,” he said. “You come in, get in line, fill out a health history and they get you right into the clinic.”

Dental services provided include cleanings, fillings, root canals, temporary dental appliances for front teeth (flippers) and extractions.

Patients on Coumadin- or Fosamax-type medications cannot have extractions, and patients with high blood pressure or high glucose levels will not be able to be treated at COMOM.

In 2015, the Cañon City clinic treated people from not only Fremont County and across the state but some from Texas, Kansas and Wyoming, as well.

After reviewing a summary of findings from the 2015 event, VanAcker said what he found most compelling for having the clinic is the number of people who show up in pain.

“Half of the people we see are in some sort of discomfort,” he said. “Of those people who are in pain, another 50 percent have been in pain for months or longer. That’s the thing that I am most touched by, how many people are suffering with their teeth right now.”

On average, patients were in pain for 13 months with a range of one day through 20 years. Some of the people leaving the clinic were pain-free for the first time in months.

“COMOM is tremendous because we got 478 people out of pain,” VanAcker said.

The summary of findings also reports that 90 percent of the people treated at the clinic had a positive experience and were “very happy” with the treatment they received. VanAcker attributes that to the volunteer dentists who contribute their time and talent to the clinic.

“The dentists that we have at COMOM are the best in the state; they are the best in their field and they are the superheroes of dentistry,” VanAcker said. “They do fantastic work. The work that you get at the clinic isn’t just mediocre dentistry, it’s going to be the absolute best.”

During Cañon City’s two-day large-scale clinic, 150 dentists provided nearly 1,200 patients $1.1 million in donated care.

For more information, visit www.comom.org or call 720-648-0919.

Carie Canterbury: 719-276-7643, canterburyc@canoncitydailyrecord.com