Albuquerque Coliseum Prepares for 1,200 Free Dental Procedures
Volunteers set up 100 chairs at Tingley Coliseum for the two-day New Mexico Mission of Mercy, where patients need no insurance or appointment.
By Madison Darwish ·
Volunteers installed 100 dental chairs inside Tingley Coliseum to prepare for a two-day free dental clinic that organizers expect to serve between 1,000 and 1,200 patients. The New Mexico Mission of Mercy began Friday morning at the New Mexico State Fairgrounds and continues through Saturday. Doors open at 5:15 a.m. on both days, and the event operates on a first-come, first-served basis without requiring insurance or prior appointments.
The New Mexico Dental Association organizes the event, which provides cleanings, fillings, extractions, and simple root canals. Michael Moxey of the New Mexico Dental Association explained the medical rationale for the clinic. "The mouth is the door to the body. If there are problems with your mouth, that could lead to problems with your cardiac system, your heart, other parts of your body, and it just really kind of creates a whole series of issues," Moxey said. He noted that dental pain often causes people to miss work or school, forcing some community members to endure the struggle for years.
Data underscores the need for the event. New Mexico health records indicate that only 60% of adults visited a dentist in the past year. Federal figures show that 994,000 New Mexicans reside in areas designated as dentist shortage zones. Moxey said the team prioritizes the most urgent issues for each patient, as many individuals arrive with multiple dental problems. "We really try to do as much as we can for each person," he said.
Logistics for the event include free parking that opens at 4:30 a.m. Drivers must enter through Gate 3 at San Pedro and Copper, while walk-ins use Gate 4 on San Pedro. Organizers warned attendees to expect wait times, as a long line had already formed outside the coliseum on Friday morning.
Since 2010, the New Mexico Dental Association has used this model to assist more than 12,000 patients and donate over $10 million in dental care. The current clinic follows that same structure, utilizing volunteer labor and donated equipment to transform the coliseum into a temporary medical facility for the duration of the two-day event.
