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Mission of Mercy media room
- Mission of Mercy 2011 goals
- Press releases
- Photos
- MOM facts
- Donors
- Spokespersons and volunteers' work/hometowns
- MOM logo
- Background on dental access
- About the WDA and WDA Foundation
- Oral health story ideas
- Contact
2011 WDA Mission of Mercy Totals
1,050 volunteers
1,570 patients, including 22 Special Olympics Wisconsin athletes
2,141 patient encounters (visits)
$1.12 million in care
8,040 procedures, including:
593 cleanings
242 sealants
1,822 fillings
1,756 extractions
22 root canals
97 partial dentures
9 denture repairs or teeth added
- $1.12 million in free dental care provided to 1,570 at WDA Mission of Mercy
WEST ALLIS, WIS., June 30, 2011 - An estimated $1.12 million in charitable dental care was provided to 1,570 children and adults during 2,141 patient visits at the Wisconsin Dental Association and WDA Foundation’s third Mission of Mercy held June 24 and 25, at Greenheck Field House in Weston, Wis.
- 2,000 patients to receive $1 million in free dental care June 24 and 25 in Wausau
WEST ALLIS, WIS., June 22, 2011 - Greenheck Field House to be transformed into large-scale dental clinic treating adults and children who are uninsured, underinsured or otherwise unable to visit a dental office.
- 985 volunteers from 163 communities to provide $1 million in free dental care in central Wisconsin
WEST ALLIS, WIS., June 16, 2011 - Approximately 985 volunteers from 163 Wisconsin communities will be in the Wausau area next week to provide $1 million in free dental care to some 2,000 children and adults on June 24 and 25 at Greenheck Field House, 6400 Alderson St., Weston, Wis. (5.5 miles southeast of Wausau).
- WDA Mission of Mercy to provide free dental care to 30 Special Olympians
WEST ALLIS, WIS., June 9, 2011 - Thirty Special Olympics Wisconsin athletes will be among the estimated 2,000 individuals receiving an estimated $1 million in free dental care at the third annual Wisconsin Dental Association and WDA Foundation Mission of Mercy (MOM) on Friday, June 24 and Saturday, June 25 near Wausau.
- Third WDA Mission of Mercy bringing free dental care to Wausau area
WEST ALLIS, WIS., June 2, 2011 - The Wisconsin Dental Association and WDA Foundation are bringing the third annual WDA Mission of Mercy to the Greenheck Field House, 6400 Alderson St., Weston, Wis. (5.5 miles southeast of Wausau) on June 24 and 25 to provide free dental care to children and adults who are uninsured, underinsured or otherwise unable to visit a dental office.
Click on the photos in this slideshow to download high-res photos from the 2011 WDA Mission of Mercy free dental clinic.
U.S. Surgeon General recognizes oral health as an integral part of a person’s total health, with the dentist being the primary oral health care provider.
Goals of the Wisconsin Dental Association Foundation and WDA Mission of Mercy:
- Provide free, critical dental care with a high priority on treating patients in pain and with infections
- Raise public awareness of the barriers to dental care faced by low-income adults and children
- Challenge patients, policymakers and dental professionals to work together to make viable and bipartisan “Healthy Choices” that will improve Wisconsin residents’ oral health
The third WDA Mission of Mercy will be held June 24 – 25, 2011 in Weston (5.5 miles southeast of Wausau). Set up is June 23 and clean up is June 26.
- Provide $1 million in free dental treatment and personal oral hygiene education through 2,000 or more patient encounters.
- Care offered includes cleanings, fillings, extractions and limited treatment partials.
- Education is the most cost-effective way to reduce oral disease. A special program helps educate WDA MOM patients about the importance of good daily oral hygiene practices, healthy diet and routine preventive dental care.
- Doors open at 6 a.m. There are no appointments and patients are treated on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival encouraged as patient capacity usually reached by 10 a.m. Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
- Approximately 3,500 people have received about $1.8 million in free care at WDA Missions of Mercy since 2009.
More than 950 volunteers, including dentists, dental hygienists and assistants, lab technicians, Marquette University School of Dentistry students and community members from across Wisconsin will be involved.
While MOM is unable to provide care to patients with medically compromising conditions (e.g., extremely high blood pressure, severe disabilities), arrangements have been made to treat 30 pre-screened Special Olympics Wisconsin athletes on Friday, June 24.
More than 70 organizations and individuals will make tax-deductible financial and in-kind donations to help cover $160,000 in costs for dental equipment and facility rental, supplies, pharmaceuticals and food at WDA MOM.
- For every dollar received, WDA dentists and other MOM volunteers donate $5 - $7 in needed care.
- Major support in 2011 provided by Delta Dental of Wisconsin, Henry Schein Dental, Walmart Foundation, Marathon County, MUSOD, Central Wisconsin Dental Society, DentaQuest, Patterson Dental and Kwik Trip.
Dentists do serve their communities, but charity is not a sufficient health care system for meeting the needs of individuals with limited financial resources, including the 1 million children and adults who annually receive medical assistance.
- The state’s most current dental Medicaid data shows Wisconsin and federal governments spent less than one percent or just $58 million of a $6.6 billion annual MA budget on oral health programs for children and adults.
- In fiscal year 2010, the government paid just $58 million (39 percent) for $146.6 million in dental MA services, leaving dentists to donate $88 million to the program as a result of their participation.
- Despite this very low MA reimbursement, a recent study shows 43 percent of actively practicing Wisconsin dentists participated in the MA program – a higher percentage than in many other states.
Ensuring residents have proper dental care is important to our state economically and socially
Click here to download the entire fact sheet
Click here to view a complete list of 2011 MOM donors, including friends and partners, sponsors, supporters and donors.
Spokespersons and volunteers' work/hometowns
Click the links below to view bios and download high and low-res headshots for these 2011 WDA Mission of Mercy spokespersons.
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Dr. James (Jim) Morgenroth |
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Dr. Thomas (Tom) Raimann |
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Dr. Julie Fox |
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Dr. Allison Dowd |
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Dr. Eugene (Gene) Shoemaker |
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Dr. Steven (Steve) Stoll |
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Dr. Timothy (Tim) Durtsche |
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Dr. Kent Vandehaar |
Also volunteering at the WDA and WDA Foundation Mission of Mercy are dental professionals and individuals from 163 communities across the state.
If you are interested in speaking with a volunteer from your area, please contact Director of Public Relations Carol Weber at 414-315-9321 (cell on-site at MOM) and 414-755-4108 (direct dial at WDA) or cweber@wda.org.
Click here to download the WDA Mission of Mercy logo. Includes high and low-res image files.
Background on WDA Healthy Choices
Barriers to care
- Wisconsin Medicaid facts at-a-glance
Wisconsin’s dental Medicaid and BadgerCare programs are grossly underfunded, which denies patients necessary economic purchasing power. Increasing access depends on additional financial investment by the state, because coverage alone does not equal care.
- Why the HMO dental system doesn't work
The Legislative Audit Bureau’s June 2008 report on the dental Medicaid HMO program provides proof that the HMO dental MA system costs the state more money while providing less access to dental care than the MA fee-for-service model.
- Why dentists don't (and won't) cost-shift
The WDA explains why dentists don’t cost-shift the burdens of an underfunded state Medicaid program on to private-pay patients. Reasons are explained here.
- Pew Center on the States gives state of Wisconsin 'C' grade
The state of Wisconsin earned a grade of "C" by meeting four out of eight policy benchmarks set forth in "The Cost of Delay: State Dental Policies Fail One in Five Children" released in February 2010.
- The role of adequate work force in breaking down barriers to oral health care
The first in a series of American Dental Association papers examining the challenges and solutions to bringing good oral health to the millions of Americans—including as many as one-quarter of the nation’s children—who lack access to dental care, many of them suffering with untreated disease. It focuses on work force, an umbrella term for the numbers, location and makeup of the teams comprising dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants and other existing and proposed providers.
Path to better oral health
- WDA proposals to address barriers to dental care
The WDA believes Medicaid patients will get the quality dental care they need and the state has promised them when legislators and other state officials choose to make "healthy choices" on behalf of their constituents.
- 'Dentists Do Serve (DDS) and Make a Difference (DMD)'
Examples of WDA members’ charitable dental care efforts illustrate how "Dentists Do Serve" their communities and "Dentists Make a Difference" for underserved children and adults.
- Education prevents disease
The most cost-effective way for the state to pay for treatment of dental disease is to prevent the disease from developing in the first place.
- Resources for patients
View resources for dental patients who are on medical assistance, have no dental insurance or are otherwise unable to afford needed dental care.
- Share your concerns with legislators
The WDA has spent many years working to improve the state’s dental MA program. However, dental patients enrolled in the state insurance programs (e.g., MA, BadgerCare, BadgerCare plus) have the greatest influence in helping legislators understand the difficulty in accessing dental care.
Issue papers
- A bipartisan agenda for a healthier Wisconsin: Reducing barriers to dental care
This four-page brochure outlines a bipartisan agenda for addressing barriers to oral health care in Wisconsin.
- Issue papers
View WDA positions on current issues facing the dental profession, including access to dental care, work force and delegation of duties. Issue papers are available in printer-friendly format for easy sharing with legislators, news media, etc.
Dentists Do Serve (DDS) and Make a Difference (DMD)
Click the link below to see a few examples of how WDA dentists do serve their communities and make a difference through charitable dental care for children and adults with limited financial resources across Wisconsin.
However, charity alone is not a sufficient oral health care delivery system.
Low-income patients suffer for various reasons: failure to care for their own oral health; inability to find a dental office for routine care, because small businesses can’t absorb the significant losses required by participation in the MA program; and lawmakers’ failure to sufficiently fund the dental care they have promised
Dentists: Doctors of oral health
An American Dental Association brochure outlines the intensive academic and clinical education that dentists undergo, their role in delivering oral health care and, most important, the degree to which dental disease is almost entirely preventable is essential to ensuring that more Americans enjoy the lifelong benefits of good oral health.
About the WDA and WDA Foundation
The WDA was established in 1870. Today it is the leading voice of the dental profession in Wisconsin with approximately 3,000 member dentists or 88 percent of all licensed dentists in our state choosing to belong.
Mission statement: Advance the interests of WDA members and the dental profession by promoting professional excellence and quality oral health care for the public.
Volunteer dentists serving as officers and regional trustees lead the organization and direct 18 employees in two offices (West Allis and Madison) to provide members with mission-supporting programs that advocate, educate, empower and serve.
Mission statement: As the philanthropic arm of the WDA, the WDA Foundation is committed to making a difference by improving the oral health of Wisconsin residents through its support of projects that provide dental care for the disadvantaged while meeting the current and future needs of the dental profession.
Reporting on a dental health topic or looking for a story idea? Contact the WDA for dental health information and/or to arrange an interview with a dentist on a specific topic.
For media inquiries and assistance, please contact:
Carol Weber, APR
WDA Director of Public Relations
6737 W. Washington St., Suite 2360
West Allis, WI 53214
414-755-4108 (direct)
414-315-9321 (cell)
cweber@wda.org