THE MUSE OF RICHMOND VIDEO PROFILE
“Seeing how I can touch people’s lives makes
me so thrilled I chose this career.”
Sweet on Life,
the event. She agreed, and it was a decision that changed her forever.
by Christine Walters
That year the fair was held in an airport hangar, with about 30 dental
Muse of Merriment Christine Walters interviews Jamyce Vincent,
chairs. It was a foggy morning when she and her residents set out to start
owner of Daffodils Desserts and More. V
work, and got stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic from cars full of people
headed to the site. When they finally arrived, Dr. Brooks says, “You could
see people in a line that wound up a hill and back and forth behind the
hangar and into the fog.” She was in awe: “I had no idea there were so
many people in my own state who had that kind of need.”
This was the start of MOM, and it grew exponentially from there. Now
Dr. Brooks and her volunteers go on about eight projects a year to sites all
over the state. Virginia’s MOM has served over 13,000 people thus far
and has set the U.S. record for number of people served in two-to-three day
clinics. It has proven such an efficient model that other states have begun
launching their own programs, and Dr. Brooks and core volunteers (called
coordinators) have traveled to places like West Virginia and the Carolinas
to help these states launch their first projects.
One such coordinator is Neda Hovaizi, a senior dental student who
has worked with MOM for four years. Neda, who’s been fascinated with
dentistry from an early age, started volunteering at free clinics in high school.
After going to college at UVA, she chose to attend VCU’s dental school in
part because of MOM. “Dentistry’s not just a nine-to-five job,” says Neda,
“It’s also a responsibility to give back to the community. It’s a service that’s in
high demand, and many people don’t have money or insurance.”
Of her experience with MOM, Neda says, “Seeing how I can touch
people’s lives makes me so thrilled I chose this career.”
She also saw an opportunity to add another dimension to MOM, by
offering preventative education in addition to treatment. She took the idea to
Dr. Brooks, and as a result, two years ago Neda spearheaded the start of
DAD (Dental Health Awareness and Development). Through DAD, she and
others work to educate people on how to care for their teeth and what to
avoid (such as feeding young children acidic drinks like Mountain Dew, a
big problem in some rural areas).
Not every MOM volunteer performs dentistry. Freda Pickle, patient care
advocate at VCU’s School of Dentistry, started going on MOM missions four OUR SHOES ROCK!
years back in part out of a desire to give back to her home area (she grew
Run Jog Walk Hike Play
up not far from Wise County). When she goes, she works in triage, helping
a dentist to assess what each patient needs and what will be done to help
them. “Each time I go it’s a new awakening,” she says, “We’re supposed
to be the land of plenty, [but] people are in such great need…. I’m very
honored that I have the opportunity to do this.”
All of the women cite the appreciation of the patients as one of the most
rewarding aspects of their work, along with the look on a person’s face
when they’ve been given a new smile. Every MOM volunteer strives to make
• Strengthen and tone legs, abs,
the patients feel special and respected, not like they’re receiving a handout.
buttocks and back
Says Dr. Brooks, “What we do makes a huge difference in these people’s
• Improve posture, core stability
lives…. I love this project.” V
and performance
• Increase circulation and respiration
• Target key muscles to increase
calorie burn
V
Tamurlaine Melby is an intern with V Magazine for Women
and has assisted her parents on dental missions in Oregon and
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abroad. She’s thrilled that there are so many compassionate Shops at Tripp’s
a purchase of $100
women devoting their lives to dentistry.
9320 West Broad Street, Richmond
or more.
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• FEBRUARY 2010

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