LSU Health New Orleans Dental Faculty & Students Support Mission of Mercy

Nine hundred thirty-one people, some of whom probably hadn’t seen a dentist in years, left the Louisiana Mission of Mercy (LaMOM) event held January 19-21 in Baton Rouge smiling. LSU Health New Orleans dental faculty and students, including 60 from the DDS Class of 2018 alone, volunteered their time and skill to help provide free dental services to this underserved population during the three-day event.

Services included exams, x-rays, fillings, anterior root canals, extractions and front teeth transitional partials. LSU Health New Orleans School of Dentistry’s Dental Hygiene faculty and students performed most of the sterilization at the event.

Dr. Maria Burmaster (DDS ‘93) the LaMOM State Chair wrote the following to LSU Health New Orleans dental volunteers, “This is a short note to express my tremendous gratitude to all of you for carrying us through the event this past weekend. No words can convey how proud I am of my alma mater after experiencing the professionalism and will to serve those in need that was displayed from every level of LSU Dental School.”

According to the Louisiana Dental Association (LDA), “The LDA Foundation, together with partners such as the Louisiana Dental Association, LSU Health New Orleans School of Dentistry and America's Dentists Care Foundation, hosts Mission of Mercy (MOM) programs.

“A location is transformed into a large-scale dental clinic with the purpose of treating adults and children who have limited financial resources or are otherwise unable to visit a dental office. Over multiple days, volunteer dentists, hygienists, assistants, students and community workers from across the state of Louisiana provide services. ‘LaMOM’ is an incredible dental outreach event that takes patients on a first-come, first-served basis until we reached our capacity for the day. Our goal is to serve anyone willing to attend and participate.”

Dr. Dale Ehrlich, Chairman of the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry and Biomaterials, and Dr. Robert Barsley, Professor of Diagnostic Sciences and Director of Oral Health Resources, Community & Hospital Dentistry, organized LSU Health New Orleans School of Dentistry’s participation. Dr. Ehrlich said, “I would like to thank all of the LSU Health New Orleans dental students (D1-D4), dental hygiene students, graduate students and faculty who participated in the LaMOM/AMEN Free Clinic in Baton Rouge, LA for the outstanding job which provided dental care for the underserved in the Baton Rouge area. LSU Health New Orleans School of Dentistry students and faculty were involved in every aspect of treatment from restorative services to surgery. The dental services provided were greatly appreciated by the hundreds of patients who were treated.”