Robin was one of approximately 100 people who lined up in the cold early hours of Wednesday morning at Afinia Dental on Tylersville Road to receive free dental care. For the third year in a row, the six dentists at Afinia, which has offices in West Chester Twp. and Eastgate Village, offered free care to patients without insurance. Last year, the dentists said they gave away more than $35,000 in dentistry services.
“I jumped on it when I heard about it,” Robin said.
The Middletown man has been unemployed for three years since Blackhawk Automotive shut down. He came to Afinia on Wednesday to seek help for an infected tooth, which dentists determined would have to be pulled.
On Wednesday morning, the line in front of the office stretched for several hundred yards outside the door. The first patient, Dr. Jon Conover said, arrived at 2:30 a.m., five hours before the office opened. The woman had received a filling in a front tooth.
Robin arrived around 6:30 a.m. and still waited more than two hours to be seen.
“When we started this practice (in 2009) our mission was to help,” said Jordan. “This is a day we all look forward to as a chance to reset the batteries and help out the community.”
Jordan said being able to provide such a service meant a lot to him.
“I’ve been blessed with so much,” Jordan said. “The people we see today are truly thankful. They may not get this service anywhere else.”
“It’s just so rewarding to help people in need,” Conover said.
It was the kind of gratitude that could help anyone overcome the fear of the dentist chair and noisy drill looming in the back of every patients’ mind.
“I’m so happy they do this, but I’ll be honest with you,” Robin said, his voice starting to slur as the novocaine took effect. “I don’t really like the dentist much.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4544 or jmcclelland@coxohio.com.
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