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| #35 Southern Oregon Mission of Mercy |
SEP, 14 2012 By MARY DALY
Medford was hot! But with air conditioning the Tooth Taxi and the Medical Teams International dental van from Bend comprised the mobile area for Medford's Mission of Mercy, parked just outside the humming clinic taking place in the school gym.
With adults as the primary patients, the Tooth Taxi started off as a hygiene van with volunteers from La Clinica Del Valle providing cleanings. We then switched the front operatory to oral surgery with Dr. Brian Van Voorhis of McMinnville rocking through extractions and making people smile. Dr. Van Voorhis and Tooth Taxi assistant Catherine Johnson went the extra mile to help this patient regain her smile after her extraction, fabricating a tooth for her (see att. photos).
Tooth Taxi staff Dr. Josh Moffitt and assistant Jake Goertz worked both on the clinic floor and in the Tooth Taxi. They treated a woman who was very nervous and took some anti-anxiety medication. She was surprised how well her treatment went and her husband said she did great "better than ever." The patient escort volunteer remarked as well. All a testament to the care patients received at MOM.
Volunteers:
Pediatric dentists Dr. David Doyle and Dr. David Alex also had stints on board the Tooth Taxi for the few kids that we saw.
Visitors:
Karen Weiseth, OEA Choice Trust Board
MOM volunteers – Megan Geser and her father, Dr. Dennis Reed, Endodontist
MOM volunteers and frequent Tooth Taxi volunteers – Dr. James and Elaine Goertz
Newspaper/Press:
Mail Tribune
From the kid gallery:
"We have Shrek for you to watch. Four-year old: "I only watch Scooby Doo."
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