Hundreds of people turned out today to receive free dental care at the office of a Pasco County dentist.
- Free dental work being provided today until 5 p.m. at 5139 Little Road, New Port Richey
- Dr. Vincent Monticciolo's office
- Dentistry from the Heart
The line began forming before sunrise and grew throughout the day. It is all part of the yearly Dentistry From The Heart event, which provides free dental work for the needy, including extractions, cleanings and fillings.
"The event has gotten bigger and bigger each year," Dr. Monticciolo said. "And we have had more and more help. We've grown in Florida and we're in every state now and five countries. So we do a lot of free work."
Dr. Vincent Monticciolo founded the charity in 2001.
For the past 16 years, Dr. Monticciolo has been hosting a Bay area Dentistry From The Heart day at his Little Road office in New Port Richey.
During that time, Dr. Monticciolo and his team of dentists, sponsors and volunteers have helped thousands of people in need of dental work. Monticciolo said the charity was created to aid those in need, including the growing population of under-insured Americans.
The dental team will work until 5 p.m. today, seeing as many as 400 patients today.
"It's humbling," Dr. Monticciolo said. "We're here to help the people. We get a lot of smiles. It's a great day for me and our staff and all the volunteers."
Since its beginnings, Dentistry from the Heart has grown to more than 300 events worldwide reaching more than 80,000 people. The charity has provided more than $7 million in dental work during its 16 years.
For more information, call (727) 376-7338 or go to happydentistry.com.