Record number seek care from free dental clinic

CEDAR RAPIDS – A record number of patients received care Friday, Nov. 5, on the first day of a free dental clinic at the U.S. Cellular Center and organizers expect a massive turn-out again Saturday.

“Many will have to be told, ‘we just can't take care of you today,'” said Dr. Richard Hettinger, a Sioux City dentist and chairman of the two-day clinic, called the Iowa Mission of Mercy.

Hettinger said Cedar Rapids residents have especially suffered since the floods of 2008, but previous clinics in Newton and Waterloo attracted people with similar stories.

“There is a segment of society that is unable to afford the care that they need,” he said, “whether general health care or dental care.”

Hettinger said people who don't make it in on the second day will be given information on free clinics and elsewhere to go for treatment.

By the end of the first day, volunteers had seen 942 patients for cleanings, fillings, extractions and other dental care. At last year's clinic in Newton, 800 patients were treated on the first day.

Doors open at 7 a.m. Saturday, but already a line of more than 20 people waited as the first day ended.

When the clinic opened at 7 a.m. Friday, more than 800 people from across the state were already in line; the first patient arrived at noon Thursday.

So many people were waiting that shortly after 9 a.m. Friday, the line was closed for the day.

To Taya Chisholm and her boyfriend, Brian Gutierrez, both of Cedar Rapids, the eight hours spent at the clinic was worth it.

“It will be nice to eat a salad without being in pain,” said Chisholm, 26, who had seven cavities filled and a tooth pulled Friday. “And to smile and show my teeth – that will be nice.”

Chisholm worked an extra day this week at APAC to take the day off and Gutierrez asked for the day off from his job at Hardee's.

Both have health coverage under IowaCare, the state's health care program for adults not eligible for Medicaid who cannot afford insurance. IowaCare does not provide dental coverage.

Carrie Amthauer, 41, of Independence, smiled in a mirror after being shown her new partial.

Amthauer estimated the work done Friday on her teeth – fillings, an extraction and the partial – would have cost $10,000, even with insurance she has through her employer, Wal-Mart.

Stories like Amthauer's were common.

Even people with jobs and dental insurance said they were unable to afford the care they needed.

“My husband isn't working at this time, so dental goes on the back burner,” said Diane Prenosil, 50, of Cedar Rapids.

Prenosil, who works at HACAP,  was having five teeth pulled Friday.

“I do have dental insurance, but it still takes money,” she said.

Prenosil brought word puzzles to occupy her time while waiting in line, starting around 4 a.m.

Crowds packed the skywalk between the U.S. Cellular Center and the Five Seasons Parkade next door, but some people said they waited outside before they could get indoors. Temperatures dipped to the 20s overnight.

Denise Killius, 56, got a motel room in Cedar Rapids so she could be in line early for three fillings after a 135-mile trip from her Mason City home.

Killius also attended last year's clinic in Newton.

Dr. Matt Hansen, 36, a baby-faced dentist from Mason City, said as the word gets around about the Mission of Mercy, more people are showing up for the clinics.

Hansen expected to perform about 30 to 40 extractions in the oral surgery area of the U.S. Cellular Center.

Patients were ushered between various nodes of the field clinic, from seating to cleanings and other procedures.

About a dozen volunteers, including many from Dental Prosthetic Services in Cedar Rapids, crafted acrylic partials in a makeshift lab.

The clinic attracted about 1,000 volunteers, including 200 dentists.

Hansen noted that volunteers donate their time, but get something in return through the camaraderie and helping people in need.

“The patients are very appreciative of what we do,” he said. “Every year, the lines are getting bigger.”