hopkins dentist offers delayed valentine’s gift: “dentistry from the heart” spreads free...
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Hopkins Dentist Offers Delayed Valentine�s Gift:�Dentistry from the Heart� Spreads Free Smiles
HOPKINS, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--http://www.shamblottfamilydentistry.com
- Celebrate late this year - the last Friday of February, almost two
weeks after Valentine's Day, Shamblott Family Dentistry will again
spread goodwill and cheer to the local community with a Dentistry from
the Heart (DFTH) event. This year's DFTH will be the fourth
annual event offering gifts of free fillings and extractions to the
first people who show up at Dr. Scott Shamblott's office in Hopkins.
On Friday, February 26, Dr. Shamblott and his staff will provide
free dental care to those in need. DFTH began in 2001 as
one dentist's charitable act for the Tampa Bay community. In
the years since, it has grown steadily and is now hosted by dental
offices across the country. Since its inception, DFTH has
given away over $2.5 million in dental work to over 10,500 patients.
With the rising cost of dental and medical services, and the
current economic crisis, demand is expected to be greater than ever.
Dr. Shamblott is again recruiting other dentists to join him in
giving back this year, hoping to serve more patients than ever as the
need for this free service continues to grow. This is Dr.
Shamblott's way of giving back to the community, offering care to those
who can't afford it, and providing aid to the growing number of
Americans without dental insurance.
Dr. Shamblott and his fellow volunteers will start work at 7:00
a.m. and continue working throughout the day, caring for as many people
as they can. Patients will be examined and will receive free fillings or
extractions as time permits. Work will be done on a first come, first
served basis.
The office gets busier each year during this event, and this year
Dr. Shamblott intends to increase efforts to spread the word about the
free services. "There are so many individuals who need dental care and
can't afford it. We want them to know that there is somewhere they can
go to get help," says Dr. Shamblott. His office is partnering with local
media to call attention to Dentistry from the Heart, and continues to
work with religious and social organizations to spread the word.
Each year, Dr. Shamblott finds that "The biggest demand is from
people who've been hurting for a long time. This is what they need:
someone who can do a little work for them at no charge. We
get a lot of hugs and we get a lot of kisses - all we ask for in return
is a smile and a thank you."
"After seeing what we accomplished with our event again last year,
we realize there is a great need for Dentistry from the Heart in our
community," said Dr. Scott Shamblott. "There is an opportunity to
provide dental care to many people who couldn't otherwise afford it, and
we hope to be able to treat more people this year than we did last,
impacting more lives and making an even bigger difference in our
community."
Dr. Shamblott and his team do whatever they can on DFTH day to
relieve pain and fix problems. Patients who need ongoing care or have
problems that cannot be fixed in one day are referred to community
clinics, where they can receive ongoing treatment at low or no cost. "We
spend the rest of the year Read More simply running a traditional dental
practice," Dr Shamblott said. "One day is a pretty small thing but we
think it makes a difference in the lives of the people who come to us
for help."
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"Dentistry from the Heart is a way of giving thanks for our own
successes," Dr. Shamblott said. "We encourage other dentists to join us
next year, volunteering their time and lending their skills to this
cause. Someday, I'd like to have 50 dentists treat 600 patients, like
the founder of Dentistry from the Heart has in Tampa Bay."
Dr. Shamblott was the first dentist in Minnesota to join Dentistry
from the Heart when he hosted his first event in 2007, and Shamblott
Family Dentistry is recruiting additional offices to participate on
February 26 this year. In 2010, more than 200 practices in
48 states and Canada are expected to hold similar events.
About Shamblott Family Dentistry: Shamblott Family
Dentistry, 33 Tenth Avenue South, Suite 250 in Hopkins, MN,
952-935-5599, www.shamblottfamilydentistry.com,
is run by Hopkins dentist Dr. Scott Shamblott and offers a wide variety
of dental treatments including sedation dentistry and same day emergency
appointments.