Dentistry From The Heart 2010 | Made Ya Smile Dental

Host 1:
... point seven FM. Another event happening this weekend is giving back to the community. Dentistry From the Heart is a nonprofit organization that provides free dental work for people who don't have insurance or just can't afford it. So please welcome Dr. Michael Kesner to tell us more. Hi there!

Host 1:
We have learned through research now, how closely related keeping your mouth healthy is to keeping your whole body healthy.

Dr. Michael Kesner:
Yeah, yeah it is. And it's amazing. You know, gum disease affects the heart, so we're seeing a correlation between the head and heart disease, and just a tooth ache is terrible pain. And some people can't afford to have a tooth fixed or taken out. And so that's why we're providing this for people that can't afford to have it.

Host 1:
So how's it work? People show up, first come, first serve?

Dr. Michael Kesner:
They show up, first come, first serve, from 8:00 to 4:00 tomorrow, and they'll get either one filling, one extraction or one cleaning. And it's a lot of fun. We have games. We have radio station there. It's a lot of fun.

Host 1:
Yeah. When you see people show up, often times they've been suffering for a while. And so we say Dentistry From the Heart, when you all do this, I'm sure you get a whole lot more out of it.

Dr. Michael Kesner:
Oh, yeah. There's lots of hugs and kisses and tears, and it's amazing. If people have been in pain for months, and they just can't afford to do anything about it, and so it's a really great for us to give back to the community in that way.

Host 1:
Yeah, this is a great program for... But overall people need help. Are there other places they can call or to find out where they can get that kind of basic dentistry? We're not talking about getting new smiles in terms of the beautiful new teeth but we're talking about just to get those basics taken care of, to get out of pain. How can they access that?

Dr. Michael Kesner:
They can access that through the dental school, in downtown, in the medical center. That's a great place, University of Texas Dental School. The dental school will do that.

Host 1:
All right. Thank you very, very much for doing that. I know there are a lot of people out there who really, really need this.

Host 1:
All right, well did you know that a simple swab with a Q-tip can put you on track to actually save a life? This woman is living proof. We'll hear her story when we come back.

Host 2:
There are hundreds of families lined up outside and Sugarland dentists office today for chance to get some free dental work. The Made Ya Smile Dental Clinic, on Highway 6, hosted a free day of dentistry, complete with teeth cleanings, extractions, fillings. Painful work, but hey, folks in need, it was nice. This is the second year the clinic has hosted the event, a free event. Doctors and staff say, "Hey." They're happy to provide new smiles just in time for Valentine's Day."

Dr. Michael Kesner:
It's great for us to be able to get back to the community, because there's a lot of people that don't have dental insurance or can't afford to have their teeth fixed, and so they're going around in pain for months and months. And so this really allows us to help those folks.

Host 2:
Yeah the doc say some of the family's waiting in line as early as 1:30 in the morning. They treated more than 300 people. February, by the way, National Children's Dental Health Month. It's a tradition for a lot of dentists to offer this service Valentine's weekend. We bring Ken Wellman here, to talk about the weather. I used my sunglasses today, for the first...

Host 3:
Well, this Valentine's day, some dentists are hoping to make a difference. More than a million Americans are without dental insurance. 39's Mara Marina was there today, as many of those people waited outside in the cold hoping to get free dental services.

Dr. Michael Kesner:
Open your mouth.

Brenda Pyles:
It was absolutely wonderful.

Dr. Michael Kesner:
We did it on Valentine's Day. It's kind of our way to give back to the community.

Mara Marino:
Dr. Mike Kesner is spreading smiles to hundreds of patients.

Brenda Pyles:
I didn't know it was free. I still couldn't believe it was free.

Dr. Michael Kesner:
Free extraction or a free filling or a free cleaning.

Mara Marino:
That's right. You heard it. It's free. Right before Valentine's day, every year dentists like Dr. Kesner provide free dental care to those who need it, through a nonprofit organization called Dentistry From the Heart.

Dr. Michael Kesner:
There's a lot of people with toothaches, they've had them for months, and they can't afford to get it fixed, get it taken care of. So it's real rewarding for us to do that.

Dana Wright:
Oh, I have had sleepless nights because of these teeth. I'm so grateful.

Mara Marino:
Dana Wright, who can't afford dental insurance is finally getting rid of her pain.

Dana Wright:
A lot of people out of work, unemployed. This is really wonderful.

Mara Marino:
In a struggling economy, Brenda Pyles admits she has no choice but to go without dental insurance.

Brenda Pyles:
My husband, under him I can get insurance, but then it would be the whole paycheck.

Mara Marino:
This is the second year Dr. Kesner's staff have volunteered their time to help and give back to others.

Dr. Michael Kesner:
People are really grateful. It's a lot of fun.

Mara Marino:
Twice as many people showed up, waiting outside in the cold for hours.

Patient 1:
It's cold, and I'm about to freeze.

Dana Wright:
I would've waited until about 11:30 tomorrow night if I had to.

Mara Marino:
Dr. Kesner says his practice has been very successful, doing this for hundreds of patients, he says is well worth the time and effort. Reporting in Sugerland, Mara Marino, 39 News.

Host 5:
Well, tomorrow, of course, is Valentine's Day, and dozens of people in Sugarland will be headed into it with clean smiles. They were all able to see a dentist, and many say it was just what they needed, because as Eye Witness news anchor, Elisa Rivas, shows us, the visit was free.

Assistant:
Open your mouth, okay?

Alvin Brown:
Ah, no, I don't...

Elissa Rivas:
This is no typical day at the office for Dr. Michael Kesner, his staff and his suppliers. This is an entire day of free dentistry. It's Alvin Brown's lucky day.

Alvin Brown:
I haven't seen a dentist in 13 years, you know? And it's a good thing that somebody can come out there and help out people and brighten they smile, make their day.

Elissa Rivas:
Like so many others. Alvin doesn't have insurance but needs dental work. It's a Bottletown's day kindness performed by Kesner staff for more than 250 patients.

Dr. Michael Kesner:
Just this morning, the lady slept in her car. She got here at 1:30 in the morning and slept in her car, and just waiting to get in.

Elissa Rivas:
It was cold, but patients didn't seem to mind considering what they were getting in return.

John Sanders:
Well, if I have can make, yeah, the Air Force had me stationed in North Dakota in the mid '70s. 75 below zero. This is nothing.

Patient 2:
I'm getting the holes in my head filled. I had a filling fall out. So it says it's free. It kind of fits my budget perfectly.

Dr. Michael Kesner:
Yeah, a lot of these people are walking around with toothaches for months and months, and they can't afford to have something done. and so we're able to help them out.

Elissa Rivas:
In addition to a cleaning, filling, or having a tooth pulled, Kesner says, they're also just trying to make patient's smile. In Sugarland, Elissa Rivas, 13 Eyewitness News.

John Sanders:
It's not going to, it's...

Host 5:
Dr. Kesner hopes to continue this Dentistry From the Heart event every Valentine's day.

Host 5:
Well, all the snow and ice over Texas has seen of the last few days has florists there working hard to get flowers delivered for Valentine's Day. Designers in Fort Worth have been hustling to crank out bouquets. That area has seen more than a foot of snow this...