More than 60 volunteers from the UNMC College of Dentistry, including dental and dental hygiene students, faculty, residents, staff and alumni, helped provide $957,000 worth of dental services to more than 1,350 patients during a Nebraska Mission of Mercy event held at Brownell Talbot School and the UNMC College of Dentistry Pediatric Dental Clinic at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha on March 29-30.
The volunteers provided a range of services including cleanings, fillings, extractions, root canals and dentures. Bruce Kuhn, D.D.S., M.D., a 1983 dental alum of the College of Dentistry, medical alum from the UNMC College of Medicine and 1988 alum of the College of Dentistry Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery program, served as the event chair.
See more photos from the event.
The Nebraska Mission of Mercy program provides care to the uninsured, the under-insured and anyone who otherwise has difficulty getting to a dentist. Families travel from remote areas of Nebraska and surrounding states to receive dental care.
The Cudaback family travelled five hours from Ogallala to Omaha, where they hoped they could get their 8-year-old daughter, Kylie, much-needed care — even if that meant sleeping in their car in the parking lot of a private school in Omaha and standing in line through the night to insure she would get an appointment.
“It was worth it,” said Kassie Cudaback. “I never want my daughter to experience what I did last fall.”
An abscessed tooth caused the entire left side of Cudaback’s face to swell, including her left eye. After spending three days in the hospital, and nearly losing the vision in her eye because of infection, Cudaback was able to access dental care through the Colorado Mission of Mercy.
When she heard about the Nebraska Mission of Mercy event, she knew she wanted to get her daughter seen.
Kylie Cudaback was reluctant to see a dental provider, but after meeting pediatric dentistry resident Kiley Dohm, D.D.S., she was smiling and chatting about how they shared the same name.
The banter between the two helped calm her nerves, and Kylie ended up getting her teeth cleaned, four sealants and a cavity filled.
“They’ve done a great job with Kylie,” Cudaback said. “We planned this for two months, as soon as I found out about it, and I’m so glad we came.”
“The Cudaback family is exactly why the UNMC College of Dentistry participates in the Nebraska Mission of Mercy each year,” said Jill Wallen, B.D.S., chair of the department of growth and development at the college. “It underscores for us the need that still exists in our own communities and reminds us that despite our best efforts there are many children and families out there that cannot access quality dental care.”