After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, Missions of Mercy (MoM) returned to Wise, Va., on July 22 and 23 to provide free dental care to residents of Southwest Virginia.

Over two days, more than 300 volunteers served 322 patients, providing free oral health care valued at more than $400,000. Dozens of VCU School of Dentistry students, residents, faculty, and staff were on-hand to not only provide critically needed oral health care but also to help set up, maintain, and tear down the extensive amount of equipment and instruments needed to host the event at the UVA Wise David J. Prior Convocation Center.

MoM projects are a collaboration between the Virginia Dental Association Foundation and VCU School of Dentistry, as well as hundreds of volunteers from around the state. Wise is the biggest MoM event in Virginia, and it was started in 2000 by Terry Dickinson, D.D.S., former executive director of the Virginia Dental Association and adjunct professor at VCU School of Dentistry. Since it began, MoM has been replicated in more than 30 states across the U.S., providing millions of dollars worth of dental care to countless patients in need.