The staff at Gainesville Dental Group has wrapped up its ninth year participating in the national Dentists With A Heart program, providing free dental procedures for citizens in need.
The dentists started participating in the effort in 2008, when the economy was on the downturn and they realized there were people whose income wasn't low enough to qualify for help from non-profit agencies, but who still needed some kind of assistance. Dr. Michael Vetter said his partner at the time, Dr. Kell Gallaher (who is now retired), suggested the idea.
"He came up with the idea and approached me with it and we both kind of ran with it and it's been chugging along ever since," Vetter said during a break in Friday's activity.
Vetter said they open up the entire clinic and all of the staff participates, even those who typically have a day off.
As the economy has improved, the number of clients who have taken advantage of the offer of free cleanings, fillings and extractions has fluctuated. Friday, for example, was not as busy as some other days, but Vetter said that just gave them more time with each patient who did come in.
"By the end of the day, we will have probably seen about 60 patients," Vetter said. "This year, we've done a lot more procedures on specific patients because it was a lighter load, so dentistry-wise, we probably did about the same amount of dentistry."
Vetter said both Longstreet Cafe and Johnny's BBQ helped with food and drink for patients and volunteers. Plus, the dental suppliers for the Gainesville Dental Group provided support for the day.
