“Hearing” the deaf at Arizona’s Mission of Mercy

ASDOH ASDA at AZMOMSure life is random, but in its chaos, it has often shown me that it is prepping us for something else. Such a building block was revealed to me when I volunteered at Arizona’s Mission of Mercy (AzMOM).

This past December, ASDOH ASDA volunteered at AzMOM, Arizona’s largest dental charity event. Although I was registered to volunteer as an x-ray technician, fate had another plan. And, the reality of what it really means to be underserved made itself ever more present to me. Read on to learn more about Mykel’s experience.

Medicaid’s exclusion of patients with special needs

predental week bannerImagine for a minute that you have an adult family member who has a neurodevelopmental disorder, such as autism, or an intellectual disability (ND/ID). This individual with special needs must see a dentist to alleviate pain or treat oral disease but you cannot afford care and don’t qualify for Medicaid. What do you do now? How long will your loved one have to suffer?

Now come back to reality. You are a dental student who has the ability to learn, provide care and advocate for patients with special needs. Currently, those with an intellectual disability are the most underserved medical and dental population (MUP).

Gold Crown Awards best article nominees

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The Gold Crown Awards include several categories and more than 45 awards. One section of awards is completely dedicated to media. These awards recognize chapter newsletters, websites and social media but they also recognize the articles members contribute to ASDA’s national publications as well. ASDA News and Mouth are rare among association publications. Many associations hire professionals to write their news and magazine but ASDA finds value in representing the dental student voice by soliciting volunteers to write nearly all of the content in ASDA News and Mouth (and this blog!). Read on to see the nominees for best news and feature article of the year.