If you are in need of dental treatment, but lack the funds to visit a practitioner, then help may be available to you today and tomorrow when an annual program returns to Laurinburg.

For the third straight year, Stewartsville Baptist Church will host the "Mission of Mercy" free dental clinic, which offers no cost treatment to qualified individuals. Available services will include x-rays, extractions, fillings and cleanings, with denture and partial repairs added for the first time this year. The clinic is available to adults only, and registration begins at 6 a.m. both Friday and Saturday mornings.

Event Coordinator Barbara Causey of Stewartsville Baptist Church advises everyone to arrive early and to expect a long wait.

"We are anticipating perhaps 300 to 400 people or more, and it is on a first come, first served basis," she said. "We ask that you come early and bring whatever you may need for a four to five hour wait, which might include medicines, snacks, umbrellas, and hats. Since the clinic is for adults only, we ask that you leave your children at home. Saturday is always busy, so we invite you to come on Friday if you are able. People typically begin lining up at about 4 a.m."

Patients are asked to bring a list of current medications and some form of proof of income.

"Once you get registered, we will do a blood pressure check, followed by triage, in which a dentist will look at your teeth," Causey said. "You will then receive an x-ray for tooth extraction, if needed, or will be taken to have your teeth cleaned if that is all that is required."

The event is sponsored by the North Carolina Missions of Mercy, an affiliate of the North Carolina Dental Society. Missions of Mercy Director Bill Blalock, who participates in the clinic, invites all area practitioners to join them in serving the people of Scotland County.

"We will have more chairs available than we had last year, so we could easily break our projected 400 patient mark," Blalock said. "We invite anyone from the area, dentists, dental hygienists or dental assistants, to join us Friday and Saturday in this volunteer effort. Any lay person who would like to help coordinate the patient flow will be more than welcome also."

Lunch will be provided to all volunteers.

"The community has been very generous in helping to make this event extremely successful each year," Causey said. "We feel fortunate that the Missions of Mercy group has selected Laurinburg as one of the locations to hold a free dental clinic."

For questions, call the Scotland Community Health Clinic at 276-9912 or Stewartsville Baptist Church at 277-0077.