Dental treatment in high demand at free LA health clinic

Dental care is in high demand at a free four-day health clinic that opened October 20 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, according to an Associated Press news story.

Organized by the nonprofit CareNow, the event has more than 800 volunteers and is expected to draw 5,000 uninsured and underinsured patients, according to the story.

This is a fourth such event organized by CareNow, and at all past events the most requested treatment has been dental, according to the nonprofit.

"If you have a toothache, there's no ER to go to," CareNow President Don Manelli stated in the story. "About 60% ask for dental care."

Patients stood in line for hours awaiting dental treatment. While some of them had minimal dental insurance that did not cover their dental needs, the rest did not have any dental insurance at all.

CareNow provides free medical, dental and vision services to the uninsured, underinsured and underserved in the community. The organization combines the efforts of hundreds of volunteer doctors, dentists, optometrists, nurses, and other professionals in large urban clinics that deliver free care to thousands over the course of four or five days. These events provide quality care onsite and also follow-up care after the event for those who need it.