For the second time Salina has been chosen as the host city for a statewide free dental clinic. The Kansas Dental Charitable Foundation will host the fourteenth Kansas Mission of Mercy free dental clinic in early 2015 at the Salina Bicentennial Center.

There are no appointments or reservations and patients will be seen on a first come, first served basis. Treatment options include fillings, extractions, and dental hygiene. Organizers plan to treat an estimated 1,800 patients during the two-day dental clinic.

Support for this project comes entirely from donations and grants and uses no state or federal funding. Local coordinators are making contacts within the community to gain both monetary and in-kind support for the project, as well as recruiting the hundreds of community volunteers necessary to make the Kansas Mission of Mercy a success. This project will cost nearly $140,000, but will leave behind approximately $1 million of donated dental care in return.

The clinic will include an estimated 75 dental chairs and it is expected that nearly 1,000 volunteers, consisting of dentists, hygienists, dental assistants, medical personnel, and community volunteers will donate their talents to treat patients. Since its inception in 2003, the Kansas Mission of Mercy has provided care worth $12,987,879 to 24,149 patients.

The Mission of Mercy free dental clinic will be February 13-14, 2015, at the Salina Bicentennial Center. Clinic doors open at 4:30 a.m. both days.