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Open wide and keep your wallet closed
By KENT FISCHER, Times Staff Writer
NEW PORT RICHEY -- The shrill drills of the dentist's office are enough to send most people running. On Friday morning, Dr. Vincent Monticciolo had folks lined up out the door. Free dental care will do that. Tommy Plumpowski has endured an aching molar for months, and he waited for more than five hours hoping to get the rotting tooth yanked. He didn't mind the wait or the goose-pimply prospect of cold steel in his mouth. For the second year, Monticciolo offered a day of free care to people who need it. By the end of the day, he and three other dentists and a host of hygienists had treated more than 180 people. Some of them came in for routine cleanings. Others had cavities drilled. Many, such as Plumpowski, wanted a tooth pulled. Almost all were grateful. None paid a dime. "How many people actually help anyone these days?" Plumpowski said as he waited his turn in the dental chair. "This is great. This is what America is supposed to be." People started lining up for the free care Thursday night. By the time the office opened Friday morning, more than a hundred were waiting. Monticciolo said he expected to blow past last year's number of 125 people treated at a cost of $25,000. He calls his day of free care "Dentistry with a Heart." "We're just so fortunate, and this is our way of giving back to the community," Monticciolo said between patients. "The people are very appreciative. Many of them are in pain." He wasn't working alone. Drs. Benjamin First, John Ohlsson and Deborah Brown joined him this year, along with many of their staff members. Monticciolo said he wants to make his day of free care an annual event, and he wants other dentists to join in. Perhaps, he said, "Dentistry with a Heart" could spread all over Pasco. He has plans to double the size of his office, so he expects to treat even more people next year. "There are a lot of people in the community who need care but can't afford it," Monticciolo said. "This is a community service." Plumpowski couldn't agree more. He was so grateful that, while he waited, he and a friend picked up trash around Monticciolo's office. The effort was merely a small way to say thanks, he said. "This is truly outstanding, what these (dentists) are doing," he said. "I'll do whatever I can to help out."
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From today's Pasco Times |
