Kevin McKenzie

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Free dental care on a first-come, first-serve basis will be offered in Memphis Feb. 10-11 for a second year by a nonprofit group called Mid-South Mission of Mercy.

Bellevue Baptist Church, at 2000 Appling off Interstate 40 in Cordova, will host the two-day dental clinic, as it did last year.

That event provided 1,061 fillings, 2,175 tooth extractions and 1,373 cleanings, according to Mid-South Mission of Mercy figures. Of 2,131 people who received free care, 62 percent were female and two-thirds were between the ages of 25 and 55. Eighty-six percent of all patients were residents of Shelby County.

Among 1,970 volunteers last year were 246 dentists, 238 assistants and 187 hygienists. Nearly $1.14 million worth of free care was provided. Dentists also donate cash to support the event, said Dr. Mitchel Godat, immediate past president of the Memphis Dental Society and executive director for Mid-South Mission of Mercy.

"They put their money where their mouths are," Godat said.

February dental clinic promises free care, long lines

While the Affordable Care Act did little to boost dental care, lack of prevention and care affects health and health care costs.

The American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute reported that the number of hospital emergency room visits for dental conditions continue to increase. Patients usually receive prescriptions for pain or antibiotics for infections at an average cost of $749 per visit, the research brief found.

The National Association of Dental Plans reports that 71 percent of Tennessee's population had dental benefits in 2015 through private coverage usually provided by employers or public plans for low-income people and children. Of households with incomes of less than $50,000 a year, 45 percent had no dental benefits.

Godat said after raising $250,000 for last year's clinic, this year the group started late, is still looking for volunteers and has begun looking forward to fundraising for 2018.

Employees of city and county governments who work too few hours to have benefits, as well as others from leading corporations in the city are among those lining up to receive free care, he said.

"Really the big thing that we need is the City of Memphis and Shelby County to come together, governments to help us make this happen," Godat said. "We need corporati0ns, we need foundations and we need the local community to come behind us."

The American Dentist Care Foundation, founded in 2008, fosters Mission of Mercy dental clinics as they grew since 2000. A West Memphis dentist, Dr. Chuck Wood, involved with the Arkansas Mission of Mercy that started in 2007, helped launch the Mid-South Mission of Mercy.

How to get free dental care