COLUMBUS, Ohio—Going to the dentist or doctor is almost a financial impossibility for people without health insurance or high deductibles.

NBC 4 reported with the FAST FACTS.

Seven Columbus dentists are offering free dental care Thursday as part of the 4th annual Doctors With A Heart Day.

From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., dentists at Northstone Dental Group, 1730 Schrock Rd., will offer free dental services on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The services are for both adults and children.

It’s no secret many people simply dread going to the dentist. Megan Kennedy, though, couldn’t wait.

Kennedy lost a filling in her front tooth about 10 months ago.

“I had this awful looking gap. It just looked horrible, and it felt horrible. It made me really self-conscious,” she said.

Kennedy wanted to fix it, but she doesn’t have insurance.

A filling and root canal later, Kennedy couldn’t believe her smile.

“I’m just so glad they’re doing this, and I’m sure they’re helping out so many other people,” Kennedy said.

Dentist Josh Halderman said they hope to treat 200 people. The group helped 180 people in 2008.
Some of the services being offered include cleanings, one new filling (or fixing a broken one), fixing ill-fitting dentures or pulling one painful or broken tooth.

“We do a lot of work here—looking at cosmetics and some other aspects of dentistry—and those things kind of keep us in check and give us a chance to see how many people are out there with issues they’ve been putting up with a long time,” Halderman said.

“It’s something any office can do, and hopefully we might inspire some other offices to take part,” Halderman said.

Go to http://northstonedental.com/giving.html for more information.

This article is from www2.nbc4i.com