TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Dentist Extracts Lots Of Thanks In One Fulfilling Day

ADVERTISEMENT

By PHILIP MORGAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 6, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - By 5 Thursday afternoon, dentist Vincent Monticciolo expects to have a crowd outside his office, waiting for his doors to open Friday morning.

Such enthusiasm over a visit to the dentist is understandable: No one pays on Friday.

"It's a super event," Monticciolo says. "It's almost like a big carnival that day."

Every year on the Friday before Valentine's Day, Monticciolo and his team of volunteers provide cleanings, extractions or fillings at no charge to the first 500 people who show up at his door at 4530 Grand Blvd. Security personnel will start handing out tickets to those in line at midnight tonight.

Starting at 7:30 a.m., Monticciolo and nine other dentists, backed by scores of support personnel, will drill, buff and pull for Dentistry From the Heart, a charity Monticciolo founded in 2006 - though he started giving away his services years earlier. He also has recruited 19 other dental offices across the country to open up for a free care day.

The only other participating Florida dentist is Zach Hodgins of Winter Park, just northeast of Orlando. His office, at 1350 Orange Ave., Suite 106, will launch its first Dentistry From the Heart day on Saturday.

"We're going to have a great turnout!" says Hodgins, who has advertised on radio and distributed fliers to churches and shelters for abused women and the homeless.

He and three other volunteer dentists and assistants plan to see 150 patients starting at 7 a.m. Hodgins predicts it will be an exhausting, satisfying day. "It's great to be able to help."

People who go to Monticciolo's office get a bonus: a free skin cancer screening from his wife, dermatologist Natalie Monticciolo. Her office is in the same complex at 4546 Grand Blvd.

Monticciolo, 42, started the free day of dentistry when he practiced in Michigan, before moving to Florida. There, he offered his services on the day after Thanksgiving, calling it Day of Thanks.

"Most dentists do some charity work. We were kind of trying to determine the best way to service the most people in our community," he says.

The volunteers provide whichever service the patient wants, no questions asked, Monticciolo says.

Some people come from far away. In past years, a man pedaled his bicycle to the office from St. Petersburg, a six-hour trip. A family came from Ocala.

The dentist says, "We get a lot of hugs, a lot of tears, a lot of thanks."

Reporter Philip Morgan can be reached at (813) 259-7609 or pmorgan@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT