Free Dental Clinic Brings Dozens to Shady Grove
When registration opened for the University of Maryland School of Dentistry's spring Mission of Mercy (MOM) clinic, the slots were gone almost immediately.
Dr. Halima Karim (center) supervises dental students at the spring Mission of Mercy clinic.
"I think we had at least 1,000 people who signed up," said Halima Karim, DDS, FAGD, FACD, director and clinical instructor at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry's Shady Grove Dental Clinic. The event could take 90.
The gap between how many people need affordable dental care in the Washington suburbs and how many chairs exist to treat them is the whole reason the Mission of Mercy program exists. On April 17, the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) made a dent with the fourth Mission of Mercy held at Shady Grove.
The school and Catholic Charities formalized their partnership in fall 2022, holding the first Shady Grove Mission of Mercy in April 2023. The program, which provides free dental care to underserved adults, now runs twice a year at Shady Grove. About 55 students, a dozen faculty, and several volunteer dentists treated more than 70 patients at the spring event, providing mostly extractions and fillings.
Jim Malloy, CEO and president of Catholic Charities in Washington, D.C., said the clinic makes a real difference for many in the area who lack access to or finances for dental care.
"I come in here to see the impact," Malloy said. "Dental care, both preventive and corrective, is one of the last things people do when they're short on money. They're going to take care of their families first."
Planting Seeds of Volunteerism
For Ramsay Koury, DMD, UMSOD assistant clinical professor and director of general practice, volunteerism has been central to his career since before he entered dentistry. He got into the field through a college volunteer trip, goes on frequent mission trips, and was instrumental in bringing the Mission of Mercy to the School of Dentistry.
This spring, two of his former students returned to Shady Grove as volunteers. Amir Itani, DDS, '18, an oral surgeon in Rockville, and Hafeeza Hassan, DDS '20, now a clinical assistant professor at the School of Dentistry, both participated.
Watching them work, Koury got a little overwhelmed.
"I'm getting emotional," he said, pausing and motioning to Dr. Hassan. "She was one of my students, and now she's here as a faculty. It's just great to see that people will come back and volunteer."
He said the goal for a day like April 17 isn't just treating patients. It's making sure at least a few students leave wanting to do it again.
"This event is the opportunity to combine helping people with instilling the love of volunteerism into the dental students," he said.
Seven Mission of Mercys
Sarah Abdelwahab has been volunteering at MOM clinics since she was a college sophomore, when she was just an escort navigating patients to chairs at the large regional event in College Park.
"That's kind of what got me interested in dentistry," she said.
Now a fourth-year student and a month from graduation, Abdelwahab has seven MOM events under her belt. April 17 was her last as a student.
"I'm going to miss it," she said.
She spent much of the morning treating LaTanya Johnson, a Germantown resident who had a broken filling that had been trapping food after every meal for weeks. It wasn't painful, but it was problematic.
"Food kept getting stuck in it, and I kept having to floss every time I ate something," Johnson said. "It was just irritating."
Abdelwahab took X-rays, cleared out the debris, and restored the tooth. Left unaddressed, she noted, the damage could have progressed.
"It can lead to decay and eventually nerve problems if it's not taken care of in a timely fashion," she said.
Johnson heard about the clinic through the Montgomery County African American Health Program and made an appointment as soon as the email arrived. After her treatment, she scheduled a cleaning she hadn't been able to get through regular care.
"It's a beautiful clinic," she said. "Absolutely, I would come back."
Abdelwahab said the Mission of Mercy format sharpens skills in ways a standard clinical rotation doesn't.
"It's not our typical clinic patients, where we get them and we have all the time in the world to work them up," she said. "You get to think on the spot. This is like boot camp."
Third-year student Elyas Azamy assisted Abdelwahab with setup and X-rays. After a strong first experience at the fall Shady Grove clinic, he said he already plans to return next spring in a bigger role.
"You're kind of wishing you're the one doing a lot of the procedures," Azamy said. "I'll definitely be back next year to provide care."
An Interdisciplinary Approach
Before any patient reached a dental chair on the second floor, they passed through a different kind of clinic downstairs. Ten nursing students from the University of Maryland School of Nursing conducted health screenings including blood pressure, temperature, and respiratory rate as patients entered the lobby.
Nicole Smith PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE, CNE-cl, assistant professor and co-director of the BSN program at the Universities at Shady Grove, said this is the third year nursing students have collaborated with the dental school at the Mission of Mercy.
"This is an opportunity to understand the power of serving the community and the impact we can make," Smith said. "Connecting people to other services, and just the joy and the appreciation they have when they come in is perfect."
Watching the activity from the clinic floor, Karim said she hopes what students feel on a day like this stays with them.
"Hopefully they catch that bug to want to give back to the community," she said. "It does spark a lot of joy in the work that you do."
