Altoona dentist offers free care during Smiles from the Heart event

After a year off because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Altoona Smiles dental clinic brought back its popular Smiles from the Heart program.

The daylong event, during which children and adults receivee free dental care including an exam, cleanings, fillings and extractions, was Feb. 9 at the clinic, located at 2575 First Ave. South in Altoona.

The Altoona Smiles doctors and staff first started holding the annual event in 2017, and say each year has been bigger than the last — they've provided more than $62,000 in free dental work.

"Being able to open up our doors and welcome anyone in and say, 'OK, if you're in pain, if you need a cleaning, if you're someone that can't get regular care ... now's the opportunity for you,'" said Dr. Eric Forsberg, co-owner of Altoona Smiles. 

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, this year patients were required to set up an appointment, and everyone was screened for symptoms when they arrived. There were 55 appointment slots.

Forsberg encourages anyone needing dental care to claim one of the event's 55 appointment slots by calling 515-200-1299. It's open to children and adults, and no personal information or medical history is required.

"We will not just do cleanings. We will also do fillings, we'll do extractions for people that are in pain and we've done root canals for young people and young adults whose teeth we're trying to save," Forsberg said.

Forsberg stresses that all dental work done that day is free and is really open to anyone, sharing they've had someone as far as Minnesota drive in for the event.

"We're going to bite the bullet for everything," said Forsberg. "The reward is working with people and their kids knowing that this isn't a normal segment of our patient population. There are people out there that need help, and we want to start by helping those in our own backyard."

Melody Mercado covers the eastern Des Moines metro for the Register. Reach her at mmercado@registermedia.com or Twitter @melodymercadotv.