Free Dental Days Part of Heartland Dental Supported Practices Giving Back to Their Communities

From Free Dentistry Days to special events, the Heartland Dental network continues to make an impact. The dental service organization (DSO) just announced the progress across their supported practices to give back to the communities they serve and make dental care more accessible.

Free Dentistry Days is an opportunity for supported doctors and team members to provide basic dental care such as cleanings, fillings, and extractions at no cost to the patients. Since 2010, Free Dentistry Days have provided more than $12 million in free dental care to more than 31,000 patients. This year to-date, over 150 supported offices across the country have hosted a Free Dentistry Day with another 100 supported offices assisting. Together, these supported offices provided basic dental care to more than 2,600 patients who signed up.

Collectively, more than $400,000 worth of dental supplies were donated by Heartland Dental's dental supply partners, Henry Schein, Envista Smile Project, Leixir Dental Group, Colgate, Septodont, and Crest Oral-B.

Heartland Dental supported doctors are also participating in special local events and challenges to reinforce their commitment to giving back to communities. Following one of the most challenging and unpredictable years, the company is nearing the end of a "Pay It Forward" challenge. For this challenge, Heartland supported doctors are providing free dental services to patients that are first responders or essential workers that had treatment needs they could not afford.

"At Heartland Dental, we are proud to see so many supported doctors and team members using their talents and skills to give back to the communities they serve," says Rick Workman, DMD, Founder and Executive Chairman, Heartland Dental. "Giving back is so important as we know that oral health is vital to overall health and well-being and yet, some people don't have the financial means to pay for this care. This offering is an opportunity for some to get dental care who otherwise might go without."

There is significant evidence that oral care is critical to overall good health and well-being. Many medical conditions, such as diabetes, oral cancer and heart disease, can be detected through traditional oral examinations; and poor dental health can lead to cardiovascular disease, cancer and respiratory infections, to name a few.

"We are grateful for this opportunity to support doctors and their teams as they offer to give back to communities across the country through Free Dentistry Days and other philanthropic work," says Pat Bauer, Heartland Dental President and CEO. "We look forward to supporting doctors in their ongoing efforts to serve patients and change lives through dental care."