By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Gary Collins and his wife, Brandy, left their home in Pratt about 2 a.m. this morning to drive to Hays so Brandy could receive dental work at the Kansas Mission of Mercy free dental clinic.
Collins had all of his teeth pulled at a Mission of Mercy event in 2018 in Hutchinson. Collins said he couldn't afford dental care, but prior to 2018 had been suffering with a lot of pain from his teeth.
He was having ear aches and was limited in what he could eat.
He said having his teeth pulled not only helped his physical health, but also improved his mental health and self confidence.
"I'm very thankful," he said.
Brandy is horribly frightened of the dentist. Several times on the drive to Hays this morning, she asked Gary if they could turn around. However, Gary's story of how the Mission of Mercy helped him encouraged her to go through with getting seven teeth pulled on Saturday.
In near tears, she said she was still frightened, but as she held Gary's hand, said she knew getting the teeth pulled is what she needed to do to improve her health.
Although Gary is feeling much better since he had his diseased teeth pulled, he has still not been able to afford dentures — he said something that would help him be able to smile again.
Although the Kansas Mission of Mercy has offered millions of dollars in free dental care in its 20 years, it does not have the capacity to provide denture.
About 250 people were provided free dental services Friday during the first day of the Mission of Mercy and another 200 were served today.
The event is sponsored by the Kansas Dental Charitable Foundation.
The event continued today on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Ellis County Fairgrounds with doors opening at 5:30 a.m. Demand was so strong for the event that all of Friday's slots were filled by 6 a.m.
Although they didn't want their names used in the media, one couple said they drove five hours through the night from Oklahoma and were in line at 3 a.m. to receive care.
Some people stayed all night at the fairgrounds to ensure a place in line for treatment.
Eighty-three dentists, along with hundreds scores of other professional and lay volunteers, offered their time at the event, which served both adults and children.
Dentists offered everything from cleanings to full-mouth teeth extractions.
Dr. Jeff Stasch, dentist from Garden City, was one of the founders of the Kansas Mission of Mercy 20 years ago. Since the inception of the free dental clinics in Kansas, Stasch has recruited dentists from 35 states to also stage free-dental clinics in their states.
Before COVID hit, the nationwide network of dentists was doing about $8o million of free dental work per year.
"There's a Third World country right here in America," he said. "It's good that people go other places to help people, but there are people right here in the Untied States who need help too.
"It helps us help people who don't have access to care. The publicity also shows people how much need there is."
He said veterans dentists' eyes have been opened through volunteering for the Mission of Mercy events.
"You sit in your office," he said "You're schedule's full, and there's no shortage of patients, but you don't know how many can't get in either."
Taylor Springfield of Ellis was struggling to get her two daughters, Eberly and Kinly, both 3, in for cleanings, so she scheduled them for appointments at the Mission of Mercy event. Children were allowed to have scheduled appointments.
She said the girls were excited to see the dentist and loved the books volunteers shared with them. As a family on tight budget, she said she was also thankful that the care at the clinic was free.
Stasch said the clinic is about giving people a hand up, and not a hand out.
"People who don't have their front teeth can't smile, he said. "They say 'I could get a better job if I could face the public and have some teeth.' It will increase their ability to better themselves."
Some of the people who will be seen over the two-days of the clinic have very advanced dental disease. Stasch said as of 11 a.m., he had already planned dental treatments for about 10 people who were set to have all of their teeth in their mouths pulled at the event.
"There's a lot of unmet need everywhere, and meth is a terrible scourge on the state," he said.
Stasch said overall health starts with a healthy mouth that allows you to process your nutrition. He said he tries to extend those healthful trends by educating patients at the clinic on good dental hygiene.
"Educate and motivate," he said. "Those are two things we can do here in addition to providing care."
Working in Hays has been great, Stasch said, especially the volunteers. He said he hopes to find the next generation of volunteers who will carry the Mission of Mercy into the future.
Some of the next generation of health care workers were on site Friday helping do basic health screenings prior to the dental procedures. Nursing students from both NCK Tech and the Fort Hays State University nursing programs were on site, taking blood pressures and checking blood sugars.
Patricia Drees, NCK Tech instructor, said the event helped the students practice assessment skills, as well as learning to deal with patients in a community setting.
"This helps them look at nursing from the community aspect and look at the whole patient," she said.
Mireya Serrano of Hays was one of the NCK Tech students who volunteered her time on Friday.
"I believe it's preparing us to interact with patients from different socioeconomic backgrounds and different ethnicities, so we can be a better rounded nurse," she said.
Kathryn Amrein, FHSU assistant professor of nursing, was supervising bachelor of nursing students at the clinic Friday.
"They're learning a lot of social skills," she said. "They don't get a lot of hands-on in the classroom, so it's been good day today to interact with people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds and people from out of state even."