ORANGE PARK – Although it cost Gary Rios a full tank of gas and required nearly four hours of roundtrip driving, he said last Saturday’s Smiles for Miles 904 was money well not-spent.

The man from Palm Coast desperately needed two teeth pulled. And since he had no dental insurance, he had learned to live with the pain.

“Being an adult is expensive,” Rios said. “Having insurance is expensive. Being an adult without insurance …”

Rios was one of 89 patients treated at the free event at Sunrise Emergency and Family Dental Care and the Florida Baptist Convention on Wells Road. Some came from as far away as Georgia and Central Florida. All left with less pain and a better smile – and a little groggy from the Novocain. The office was closed on March 20 so it could screen candidates. More than 200 stood in a line that wrapped around the strip center and 89 returned on Saturday for much-needed treatment.

“Bigger and better. Last year we saw 79 patients,” said Dr. Michael Thomasino. “We did $45,000 worth of services. We did overseas missions, and now we hope we can do charity here at home. That’s what inspires us.” Patients received three X-rays and extractions.

“We’re limited to extractions,” Thomasino said. “We feel that’s the biggest impact for our community because really, they should be going to ERs, but a lot of times they have to. They really don’t provide the treatment they need. We feel by taking out the teeth, we clear up that end and we save taxpayer dollars. These people are suffering for years.”

The first patient arrived at 4 a.m. – more than four hours before the doors opened. Patients were treated at the dental office or in the Florida Baptist Convention’s Mobile Dental Unit.

For Kia Waiters, it was a chance to finally be pain-free. She drove from Jacksonville to get two teeth pulled. She saw the line of patients standing at the front door and shook her head.

“This shows there’s a big need for this,” she said. “I don’t know what I would have done without this. I don’t have insurance and I can’t afford it.”

According to the dental office, 10 dentists, three hygienists, six hygiene students and 11 dental assistants worked together to help with 108 exams and X-rays. Of those, 119 extractions were taken from 89 patients. The volunteers donated 432.5 hours, which translated to $63,125 in services.

“We set a goal to treat even more patients than we did at our event last year,” Thomasino said. “We were able to achieve that goal thanks to the help of the other volunteer dentists, oral surgeons and their assistants who partnered with me and my staff.”

“We were very happy to be able to provide the Florida Baptist Convention’s dental mobile unit along with five volunteers to help Sunrise Emergency and Family Dental Care facilitate its 2nd Annual free dental day,” said Marc Johnston, the Community Ministries Catalyst for the Florida Baptist Convention.