Cary, NC — On Saturday, April 18, 2015, Cary Family Dental hosted our 4th annual Dentistry From The Heart event. Thanks to our hardworking team of staff, volunteers and friends, we were able to provide free dental care to 180 patients in only one day.
Dentistry From The Heart
In 2012, we began hosting an annual Dentistry From The Heart day. Starting early in the morning and going until 5 pm, we see as many patients as we can.
This year marked our largest event so far. About 300 people registered to receive one free cleaning, filling, or extraction.
180 Patients Helped
We always guarantee to see at least 100 people and, this year, we got to see about 180. Some came from an hour or more away. For this event, over 40 people camped out in the office parking lot overnight. The others arrived between 3-5 am.
Cary Family Dental’s Dr. Allan Acton said:
Although I would have loved to have been able to see everyone, I am very happy that we were able to see the people that we did see. I suspect that we did about $50,000 of free dentistry!
A Community Effort
After patients register to be seen, they wait in our parking lot. Luckily, it didn’t rain for the event, but our patients and volunteers spent most of their day outside in the hot sun. The support we received from our community helped us see as many people as possible and kept waiting patients and volunteers happy and comfortable.
Together, local restaurants Chick fil A and Ruckus Pizza donated enough lunch to feed at least 250 people. Chris Overstreet, a local musician, kept spirits high by providing free entertainment for most of the day.
While we can’t treat any patient under 18 at Dentistry From The Heart, many of the people waiting in line had young children. Dr. Acton’s kids, along with other young volunteers, kept children entertained with bubbles, toys and sidewalk chalk.
Until Next Year
Dentistry From The Heart is one of our largest events of the year (and one of our favorites). It’s a whole day chocked full of family, friends, volunteers and community businesses all working together to help people in need.
Call us to volunteer or learn more about the event.
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Story and photos from staff.
