By David Harry
Staff Writer

A lot of people “opened wide” in southern Maine last Friday.
A day of free services available at 13 area dental offices, led to jammed lobbies and relief for hundreds of Mainers who do not have dental insurance or the ability to pay for basic services.  The services were organized by dentists at Dunstan Dental Center on Route 1.
In Scarborough, the inaugural Dentists Who Care For Me program meant resident Steve Ellingwood could have a bad tooth pulled. Ellingwood, 26, had been standing in the lobby for an hour and one-half,  elbow to elbow with patients of all ages seeking help of all kinds.
Ellingwood estimated having all his dental work done would cost $1,300, but having his tooth pulled would end about four years of torment that included trips to hospitals when the pain was unbearable.
A construction worker, Ellingwood said he has no dental insurance and finding an office to accept state-funded MaineCare coverage is difficult.
On Tuesday, Dr. Demi Kouzounas of Dunstan Dental Center was still compiling statistics about the number of patients served and the value of services provided by the program in greater Portland., Kouzounas said more than $50,000 in care was provided by about half of the participating dental offices that had reported their results.
Dunstan Dental Center saw 93 patients and provided more than $18,000 in free care, she said. Four dentists were on duty Friday at the dental center, and the staff was bolstered by volunteers from St. Demetrious Greek Orthodox Church in Saco. Kouzounas and her husband, Dr. Joe Penna, of Saco, are members of the congregation.
As the doctors, assistants and volunteers bustled about inside the Dunstan Dental Center offices Friday morning, an aura of urgency developed while the staff discussed how busy other offices were as well.
“I got here at 7:30 and the place was full,” said Antonia Spirounias, a volunteer from St. Demtrios. “I expected to see a lot more.”
Spirounias pitched in to help office workers, while in a corner of the dental center, Paula Arabatzis, the wife of St. Demetrios pastor Father Basil Arabatzis, helped dental assistant Thea Stone clean bins of dental tools.
“It makes you feel safe going to go to a dentist,” Arabatzis said as she loaded tools into an ultrasonic cleaner to sterilize them for another round of treatments.
Word spread throughout the area about the free dental care, leading Wells resident Kevin Morris to Penna’s chair at around 9:30 a.m.
Penna made Morris a “four-surface interior composite restoration,” more commonly known a filling.
“It wasn’t bothering me until now,” said Morris, who had not seen a dentist in two years.

As he watched in a corridor of the dental center, oral surgeon Dr. Jeffrey B. Doss said the day of free care also emphasized the need for preventative care at home.
“Paying later is a lot more expensive,” Doss said. He recommends brushing and flossing teeth twice daily and using fluoride supplements to strengthen teeth and prevent decay.
Dr. Barry Saltz, a Scarborough resident who said he got to work at 7:15 a.m. and found patients already lined up, agreed with Doss.
“We work with parents to show how incredibly important oral health is,” he said. “A mouth with problems leads to lost work time as well.”
While vouchers for root canals and other surgeries were given to patients, the free work was limited to one service, whether it was a general cleaning or a filling.
Kouzounas said the turnouts indicate the need to expand the program statewide next year.
“We are seeing people that are really hurting,” she said.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219