The Seventh-day Adventist Church, established in 1863, began its long history of mission service in 1874. Another legacy is the church’s emphasis on health, wholeness, and education which stems from an understanding of God’s love for all His children. These two traditions have resulted in an extensive global network of healthcare and educational programs. The Adventist educational system includes 5,500 schools and 90 universities, and it operates 550 health care-facilities around the world, including hospitals, retirement centers, medical clinics and more than 100 dental clinics.
Around the world millions of people suffer with decreased oral function, compromised health, and debilitating infection and pain from dental disease. It is this crying need that the mission dental clinics were established to address.
A Dental Clinic in the Adventist system may have dentists from the country in which it is located or it may be manned by professionals that have left their own country, culture, and family support group to care for less privileged people who would otherwise go without proper care.
Loma Linda University School of Dentistry and the National Association of Seventh-day Adventist Dentists (NASDAD) collaborate with the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to support, encourage, and facilitate the function of these clinics.
Interested individuals are an integral part of this network. Is there a contribution that you can make?