What: After helping provide 4,500 free dental services through Remote Area Medical (RAM) missions over the last five years in eastern and southern Kentucky, University of Louisville dental and dental hygiene students and faculty will provide free dental cleanings, fillings, extractions, and denture relines and repairs in Greenup County.
Remote Area Medical (RAM) is a non-profit organization that serves people in rural areas of the United States and around the world. This RAM effort also includes free eye exams, eye glasses and medical consultations.
Who: More than 130 University of Louisville School of Dentistry faculty, residents, students and staff will help in the effort to address oral health needs of Kentuckians who can’t afford or easily access dental care.
When: Clinics open at 6 a.m. June 22 and June 23, 2013
*RAM organizers advise patients to arrive early. Patients are seen on a first-come, first-served basis. Lines can be long and start early in the morning. Numbers will be given out around 3:30 a.m. each day prior to the clinic opening. There are no eligibility requirements for patients, and no health insurance information is requested.*
Where: Greenup County High School
196 Musketeer Drive Greenup, KY 41144
Why: About 1,000 people are expected to take part in the free dental, medical and vision services offered through the Remote Area Medical clinic in Greenup County.
The University of Louisville School of Dentistry will join area doctors, nurses, dentists and dental hygienists, as well as local social service volunteers and churches. AT&T has contributed $10,000 to help pay for a variety of costs.
Cassie Mace, local event coordinator for the RAM Kentucky clinic in Greenup County expressed appreciation. “Volunteers are the lifeblood of these events, and we want to thank everyone who has worked so hard to make the RAM clinic in Greenup County a reality.”
Mace also thanked Rep. Tanya Pullin for her dedication to help bring excellent health care to the local area.
“The dental school is making a difference throughout the state as we fulfill our mission of community engagement,” said John Sauk, DDS, MS, dean of the UofL School of Dentistry. “The students gain so much from these RAM experiences – including an understanding of barriers to oral health care.”
Since 2008, the UofL School of Dentistry has helped provide 4,500 dental services to residents in and around Pikeville, Somerset, Knott County, Letcher County and Harlan County.
