CAÑON CITY — For some people, dental care can be a challenge to get to, which is why a local organization is making sure the community gets the help they need.
The Colorado Mission of Mercy set up a massive dental clinic at Harrison School in Cañon City. It provided people with free access to much needed dental services. Those services include cleanings,
fillings for cavities, and major oral surgeries like root canals and replacing crowns.
100 dentist, 80 dental hygienists, and hundreds of volunteers were on hand for the day.
"To see a patient smile for the first time with a new tooth, or be taken out of pain that they've been suffering with, that they might have gone to an emergency room for that, they couldn't get taken
care of elsewhere, it is truly extraordinary," said Dr. Nathanial Kunzman, on the board of directors with COMOM.
Patients that News5 also spoke with said that they're grateful for the free work being done.
"I stood beside a young man that was in line this morning and he said he had six teeth that needed extracted. He's on Medicaid and he can hardly find a clinic that will take him. And so it's a huge deal for him to be able to come here and have all those teeth extracted," said Merle Miller, a patient from Penrose.
The clinic will also be happening on Saturday from 6 a.m. until 4 p.m. Patients who do come can also get their COVID-19 vaccine on site as well.
