It’s been six months since two of Michael Brooks’ teeth broke off.
He was eating, “nothing out of the ordinary,” when he felt an intense pain in his mouth. He realized two of his teeth were hollow inside and had broken.
Since then he’s been trying to treat the pain with home remedies. The only one that worked was rubbing his gums with red and black pepper to numb the steady ache that persisted day and night.
But last week he read about a free dental clinic at the Smile Center in Frederick.
“It’s the first opportunity—the only opportunity I’ve had,” he said.
The 62-year-old Frederick resident was laid off from his job at a trucking company and hasn’t had access to dental care since. He’s not alone. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 108 million Americans don’t have dental insurance.
The Smile Center practice, which offers a free clinic once a year at its Gateway Village office, heard similar stories from all 600 patients who registered for care on Friday.
Practice manager Meredith Knight said the two dentists and owners there, Joel Butterworth and Cathie Seaman, along with the assistants, hygienists and volunteers, would provide care to at least 400.
“We know dental insurance is not available to everyone,” she said. “Every year, this is our way of giving back to the community.”
While the clinic offered one free cleaning, extraction or filling to those attending, they bent the rules for Brooks. Because the broken teeth were next to each other, they took out both and gave him a cleaning.
The practice has held the event for 11 years, according to Mark Butter worth of the Smile Center. He said ever since the first year there was a line around the building for free care. This year, they implemented an online registration system. So many people registered they had to close it before opening the doors.
He said community support has grown for the event, with other dentists and hygienists donating their time to help.
Gary Blevins of About Teeth Dental Lab buzzed around the clinic sanitizing surgical implements. Professionals from other practices like Heartland Dental took time off work to help out with cleanings.
Thomas Henderson, 86, of Transylvanian County was among those seeking care Friday. Henderson worked for years as a machinist, but his healthcare coverage didn’t follow him into retirement. He came to the free clinic 8 years ago to get a tooth extracted. With only eight teeth left, he’s focused on taking care of them, and went in for a cleaning.
His daughter set up the appointment and his wife Winnie Henderson came with him for support.
He was eating, “nothing out of the ordinary,” when he felt an intense pain in his mouth. He realized two of his teeth were hollow inside and had broken.
Since then he’s been trying to treat the pain with home remedies. The only one that worked was rubbing his gums with red and black pepper to numb the steady ache that persisted day and night.
But last week he read about a free dental clinic at the Smile Center in Frederick.
“It’s the first opportunity—the only opportunity I’ve had,” he said.
The 62-year-old Frederick resident was laid off from his job at a trucking company and hasn’t had access to dental care since. He’s not alone. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 108 million Americans don’t have dental insurance.
The Smile Center practice, which offers a free clinic once a year at its Gateway Village office, heard similar stories from all 600 patients who registered for care on Friday.
Practice manager Meredith Knight said the two dentists and owners there, Joel Butterworth and Cathie Seaman, along with the assistants, hygienists and volunteers, would provide care to at least 400.
“We know dental insurance is not available to everyone,” she said. “Every year, this is our way of giving back to the community.”
While the clinic offered one free cleaning, extraction or filling to those attending, they bent the rules for Brooks. Because the broken teeth were next to each other, they took out both and gave him a cleaning.
The practice has held the event for 11 years, according to Mark Butter worth of the Smile Center. He said ever since the first year there was a line around the building for free care. This year, they implemented an online registration system. So many people registered they had to close it before opening the doors.
He said community support has grown for the event, with other dentists and hygienists donating their time to help.
Gary Blevins of About Teeth Dental Lab buzzed around the clinic sanitizing surgical implements. Professionals from other practices like Heartland Dental took time off work to help out with cleanings.
Thomas Henderson, 86, of Transylvanian County was among those seeking care Friday. Henderson worked for years as a machinist, but his healthcare coverage didn’t follow him into retirement. He came to the free clinic 8 years ago to get a tooth extracted. With only eight teeth left, he’s focused on taking care of them, and went in for a cleaning.
His daughter set up the appointment and his wife Winnie Henderson came with him for support.
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