Virginia Dental Association – Mission of Mercy outreach project

On Saturday, July 12, 2019, the Virginia Dental Association conducted a Mission of Mercy dental outreach project in Wise, Virginia at the University of Virginia at Wise. Dr. Sam Galstan, President of the Virginia Dental Association and his wife, Dr. Sharone Ward, a Director for the VDA for Southside Dental Society. Drs. Galstan and Ward participated in this project as part of their regular and ongoing dental mission work, which they have been doing for more than 30 years.

At the two day Wise project this year, there were 72 dentists who volunteered, with an additional 473 non-dentist volunteers. 906 patients were seen, and $ 848,781 worth of dental care was donated.

MOM projects are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, and are designed to decrease barriers to accessing dental care to at risk Virginians. Since their inception, there have been 105 MOM projects throughout the state, where $ 47.2 Million dollars in dental care has been donated to more than 68,560 patients.