Local Dentists Offer Free Services

Frequent trips to the dentist are something vital for your overall health, but what happens when the cost of those trips adds up and you don’t have insurance?

Dentists at Premier Dental in Idaho Falls sponsored a Free Dental Day event Friday morning. Hundreds of people in need of dental work waited in line for hours, all hoping to snag a seat in the dentist’s chair.

Local dentists donated their time, resources and skills to provide dental work for those who needed it. Getting access to dental care is particularly tough for low-income adults and children, and it’s getting tougher as the economy worsens.

“I don’t have any insurance … ,” said Bertha Hines, local resident.

For Hines, who has been out of work since October, the opportunity to get her teeth looked at saved her a lot of pain. Standing in line since 7 a.m., Bertha had a five-hour wait until her turn.

“I have a broken tooth and so every time I take a bite or anything, food gets stuck in it. It still has nerves in it so it hurts really bad. It’s like $100 to pull a tooth anywhere else, so I love this,” said Hines.

At today’s event, patients had the option of receiving a cleaning, an X-ray, a filling or an extraction. Statistics show that one in every four Americans lack dental insurance … that’s more than 70 percent of the population.

“…it’s a lack of insurance … several people have lost their jobs and they just don’t have the funds to be able to take care of their teeth how they’d like to,” said Lorin Dixon, a local dentist.

Dixon says that ideally, it’s best to visit a dentist at least once a year, but if you can’t swing that, brushing and flossing your teeth twice a day will keep them fairly healthy.