07-05-2025
Providing free dental care to those in the area
Rapid City, S.D. (KELO) — Dental care is something many people are unable to afford, so a local dentist is stepping up to help.
This Friday, Orchard Meadows Family Dental in Rapid City will be providing free dental care to those in the surrounding area as soon as they open their doors.
The three main issues these dentists will target are providing fillings, extractions and cleanings based on what is needed most.
'When you have a dental cavity or fractured tooth or whatever, that leads to dental pain right. So really all you can do to alleviate the pain on a permanent basis is to treat the problems, not just the symptoms. We can prescribe pain medication all day but it's not going to treat the problem,' Orchard Meadows Family Dental Owner Mark Garner said.
The goal is to get people out of discomfort or pain, and to do so free of charge.
As soon as the doors open Friday morning, the dentists here will be working their best to get everybody in and out as efficiently and making sure they are healthy on their way out with their teeth. Now every year over this event they help on average from 70 to 100 people each year.
Dental pain can prevent people from living their everyday lives and interfere with eating and talking.
'It all starts in your mouth and if we don't have a good oral environment, then it affects everything else. So Friday what we're trying to do is help people get out of discomfort, so that they can go about their lives normally and they can show up to work and they can do those kinds of things without having toothache,' Garner said.
The event has been going on for around a decade, and they have helped nearly 1,000 people with dental needs. They're also looking for ways to expand this event in the future.
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