The Center for Dental Excellence will be putting smiles on patients on Friday, April 22, when staff gives free dental care through its annual Dentistry From The Heart program.
Registration begins at 8 a.m. at the office, 19615 Governors Highway in Flossmoor. Guest patients will be treated to coffee and bagels provided by the Great American Bagel store in Homewood. Volunteers will start seeing patients on a first-come first-served basis. The staff works to offer care to as many people as possible. The last patient will be seen at 4 p.m.
Guest patients come from near and far. After the last Dentisty From the Heart clinic, staff received a thank you note from a patient who drove in from the Quad Cities area.
“I try really hard to take care of my smile, but I haven’t been able to find full-time work in over a year, so going to the dentist was not in my budget,” she wrote. “I was so impressed that good people such as yourselves were kind enough to offer such generosity to people who need it.”
While no proof of need is required, the Center for Dental Excellence hopes to serve the homeless, the unemployed, the working poor or those who don’t have health insurance or the means to pay for dental care.
“Patients appreciate being treated with respect as much as they value the dental treatment they receive. Their gratitude is all the payment we need,” said Lori Tozer, marketing director.
The volunteers will be treated to lunches provided for them by Cilantro Cocina Mexicana and Dunning’s Market in Homewood.
Dentistry From The Heart (DFTH), a national non-profit organization, has a simple mission – making people smile. DFTH was founded in 2001 to aid those in need, including the growing population of under-insured Americans. To date, DFTH has helped an estimated 45,000 patients and provided at least $8 million in dental care.
For more information, visit flossmoordental.com or the organization’s national website at www.dentistryfromtheheart.org.