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References
See more – with Planmeca Viso ™
Planmeca supports

mobile charitable dental clinics

Copy Mari Koivunen Images Planmeca Group

The maintenance of good oral health DENTAL CARE IS
is crucial for maintaining overall well-being
and quality of life. In the United States, FOR EVERYONE
the Mission of Mercy mobile dental clinics
bring dental care to underserved patients.
The charitable clinics provide dental treatment
to people with limited resources or access
to dental services throughout the country.
Planmeca has supported the Missions of
Mercy for almost 10 years, providing the clinics
with dental imaging units and Planmeca
Romexis software for enhanced diagnostics. Image: Getty Images
®
In the United States, Planmeca participates in
approximately 25 missions annually.

MISSION of Mercy is a non-profit initiative coordinated by
America’s Dentists Care Foundation (ADCF). The ADCF has
developed a system of mobile dental clinics that provides dental
care for those who struggle to get it on their own. Since 2008,
the ADCF has brought Mission of Mercy clinics to 31 states in
the US in collaboration with local state dental associations,
helping 285,000 patients who otherwise would not have had
access to proper dental care.
Even though the maintenance of good oral health is crucial for
maintaining overall well-being and quality of life, several barriers
keep people from getting the oral health care they need. These
include limited access or availability of dental service in the area,
a lack of awareness of the necessity of dental care, the cost of
proper dental care, or just a fear of dental procedures. Since the
Missions of Mercy bring the services directly to the underserved
people, the mobile charitable dental clinics are eliminating
the issue of accessing oral health care and the cost of care. Even Depending on the size and clinical needs of each event,
the patients who fear dental procedures are likely to attend Planmeca has provided the Mission of Mercy clinics with
a free clinic once their need for pain relief reaches a certain point. from one to five Planmeca ProMax® 2D imaging units
The ADCF is constantly expanding the Mission of Mercy practices and Romexis imaging software for enhanced diagnostics.
throughout the United States to reach as many underserved On a few occasions, Planmeca has also provided the clinics
patients as possible. with Planmeca ProSensor® HD intraoral sensors. Local
Committed to increasing the quality and availability of dental sales representatives are regularly on site to assist the clinics
care worldwide, providing dental equipment to those in need with setting up the devices and helping the dentists with
is at the very core of Planmeca’s corporate social responsibility taking images.
initiatives. Planmeca’s subsidiary in the United States, Planmeca “Having our sales representatives on-site is crucial to assisting
USA, Inc., has been involved with the Missions of Mercy for nearly the ADCF to get everything up and running, but it is also
ten years now, and more actively during the past two years. This an eye-opener for our team. Our employees have been blown
year, Planmeca is helping about 25 missions, including the ADCF’s away at the need for access to dental care for the underserved.
Missions of Mercy and a few smaller charity clinics, such as the This underlines how vital our contribution is and continues to be,”
California Care Force. the president of Planmeca USA Ed McDonough summarises. ◢

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