A Little History
A Little History
It was November, 2011. I was president-elect of the Pennsylvania Dental Association. I had returned from the ADA Annual Session after speaking to some dentists from other states about something called“ Mission of Mercy”( MOM). They were treating hundreds of patients at a short-term free dental clinic.
I spoke with Dr. Gary Davis who was then a member of the ADA Council for Access to Care. I asked Gary if he thought we could run a MOM in Pennsylvania. And when he said,“ Yes,” and told me he had been thinking about it, my next question was:“ Would you chair it?” Gary said“ Yes,” and we were off and running. Gary’ s initial reaction was not uniform with our colleagues’ and the PDA CEO. This was going to be a very expensive project and people doubted that we could raise the money.
We had the first meeting of our Board of Directors in January 2011. We gathered some past and present leaders of the PDA. Dr. Pete Carroll offered that we should talk with Dr. Jim Bramson who had been the CEO of the ADA was now the CEO of United Concordia. Pete and I drove out to Camp Hill and we had a great meeting with Jim and Nancy Hunter. Jim gave us a Masters course in fund raising and promised us a $ 10,000 sponsorship. United Concordia Dental has helped us with a sponsorship every year since.
Someone else suggested that Dr. Amid Ismail, Dean at Temple, would probably help. I called the Dean and he met with me and warmly shared his ideas and contacts. On Friday May 31and Saturday June 1, 2013, we had our first MOM-n-PA on Temple’ s campus at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia. We treated 1,850 patients. We have held a dental mission every year since, except 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented us. We have traveled to all four corners of the Commonwealth and have held at least one mission in Pittsburgh, Erie, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre, Allentown, Reading, and York. We inspired a philanthropist in Pittsburgh who pledged to support a Pittsburgh MOM event every year.
Along the way we got thousands of people out of pain, performing extractions, root canals, restorations and prophys. All of this has been possible because of the help of hundreds of volunteer dentists, dental assistants, EFDAs, hygienists, dental students and lay volunteers. They are the heart of this mission. We have volunteers who follow us to each community. They feel really good about giving back.
In 2024, we merged with the Pennsylvania Dental Foundation, a partnership that we think will ensure of the sustainability of MOM-n-PA.
JULY / AUGUST 2025 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 15