GJ dentists offer free service

Many hate going to the dentist, but plenty of folks found a reason to smile for dental care on Friday morning.

Three local dentist offices hosted their third annual Free Dental Day in Grand Junction.

The event is first-come, first-served. Doctors said they try to limit the treatment to those who are unable to afford dental care.

During Free Dental Day, the offices of Dr. Julie Gillis, Dr. Kenneth Parino and Dr. Duane Weenig offer services such as oral cancer screenings, fillings, extractions and basic cleaning for no cost at all.

Patients schedule an appointment with one of their offices and then can receive services for one to two dental procedures.

KJCT heard from one patient Friday morning who came in to Dr. Gillis' office to get a cavity filled.

"I came last year also, but it was at a different dentist's office. And yeah, I appreciate it a lot...helped save quite a bit, I just had a root canal done last March and it was quite a bit of money," said Kerrie, a patient of Dr. Gillis.

According to Dr. Gillis, the free day of dental service is catching eyes from other dentists across the country as well.

"We've had people call from across the country, actually, because Google put an add out...so we've had people call from North Carolina...to say 'How do you do this? We want to do it here'," said Dr. Gillis.

Gillis said they've held Free Dental Day in September in the past, but this year they were too busy, so they had to push it back until November.

The dentists plan on continuing the free day of services in the future as well; they said they will always offer it sometime in the Fall.