BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. – People lined up in Blue Springs for the fourth annual Dentistry from the Heart event that took place on Saturday, a day that offered free dental services to adults in need. In fact, thousands of dollars’ worth of dental work was donated without any questions asked.
According to Dr. Alan Foster of Foster Dental Care, who has participated in Dentistry from the heart for the past three years, there are many people in need of help.
“It’s more needed now than ever before a lot of people don’t have dental insurance and a lot of people that have come today don’t have the means to pay for care,” Foster said about the patients he saw Saturday. “Some people come in and they’ve been in pain for months, and in a few minutes you get them out of pain so it’s huge.”
Emily Martins, from Blue Springs, said it had been years since she had seen the dentist. On Saturday she was finally able to get the care she needed.
“I don’t have any dental insurance. Actually I’m on a fixed income and Medicaid doesn’t pay for dentistry,” said Martins who was very grateful for the care she received.
Stories similar to Martins’ are what Dr. Foster said makes it all worth it.
“A healthy mouth is kind of like a window to the rest of the body so if your teeth are healthy then probably that reflects on the rest of your health,” said Foster.
Prior to Saturday Foster Dental Care said it had already donated more than 100 thousand dollars in dentistry to more than 330 adults in need.
