Cary Dentist Providing Free Services This Saturday
Cary, NC – Health insurance has been in headlines for months now but little gets discussed about dental insurance. This weekend, one Cary dentist is working to provide free dental services to people who may not be able to get them otherwise.
Fixing Smiles
Cary Family Dental is holding its sixth yearly Dentistry From The Heart event at its offices on Saturday, April 22, 2017, starting at 7 AM. Before the dental clinic started this tradition, Dr. Allan Acton said they tried a similar free healthcare event with a “smile makeover.”
“People would submit their story of why they should get a smile makeover,” Acton said. “There were so many good stories and how you perceive your smile and how other people perceive it has a huge impact on self-confidence.”
But with this event, Cary Family Dental would only pick one winner and Acton said he did not want to turn away so many applicants. So in 2012, they switched to Dentistry From The Heart and, in Acton’s words, went from fixing all of one person’s teeth to fixing one tooth for many different people.
“Sometimes it’s just one tooth that’s bothering someone,” Acton said. “And that can make a big change in quality of life.”
More than 114 million Americans do not have dental insurance but through this event, Acton said they have seen more than 1000 patients.
“There’s a huge quality of life difference in having healthy teeth,” Acton said.
Dr. Allan Acton, center, and his family
100+ Patients In One Day
The services provided during Dentistry From The Heart include extractions, cleanings and fillings.
“This is our sixth year and people look forward to it and even come back for multiple years,” Acton said.
The event starts at 7 AM and goes on until 5 PM, with each year providing more than $60,000 in dental care. And Acton said the lines get long, though there will be food and music provided, as well as chairs and tents for sitting.
“It is first come, first serve so the earlier you get there, the better,” he said. “We typically see 150 to 200 people in one day.”
Only patients aged 18 and older can participate and all have to bring some form of valid ID.
Through the years of doing this event, Acton said he has seen people travel far distances to get to the Cary Family Dental offices.
“The majority come from Wake County but we’ve have people drive one or two hours to get here,” he said. “We’ve even had people come from other states.”
Cary Family Dental is located at 1149 Kildaire Farm Rd. Dentistry From The Heart is an event coordinated with dentists from around the world and takes place at 7 AM on Saturday, April 22, 2017.
Story by Michael Papich. Photos courtesy of Cary Family Dental.
