MODESTO, Calif. -- A free dental clinic is being offered, Friday morning, to Central Valley residents in need.
The California Dental Association foundation is hoping to serve upwards of 2,000 people through Saturday.
"I want to show my teeth," Esmeralda Pena, a Modesto resident said.
Pena had part of her front teeth knocked out after taking a fall a while back, so pictures of her smiling are hard to come by.
"I want to smile again, play with the kids and smile with them, take a picture and smile with them, you know? I want that," she said.
While others just want the pain to go away.
"I really need a root canal," Wendy Weinle, a Modesto resident said.
"I need a root canal and I don't want to pay because I don't got no money. I don't got no job for now," Silvia Lopez, a Patterson resident said.
None of the people ABC10 talked to, who were waiting in line to get pre-screened for the free dental clinic, had dental insurance. And some said they had gone years without seeing a dentist.
"I would say, two years ago, but it was very pricey and I couldn't afford it," Pena said.
They are not alone. ABC10 is told 13 percent of people living in California also don't have dental insurance. That's why CDA Cares has come back to Modesto.
"We come in here. We do extractions, fillings, cleanings. We do some limited dentures and we also do some stay plates, which, the best way to describe a stay plate is almost like a kids retainer, that replaces a front tooth," Dr. Elizabeth Demichelis, a spokesperson for CDA Cares Modesto said.
And all of this dental care comes at no cost to you.
"We do not ask for ID. Wwe do not ask for any payment. The payment is a smile that the patients give us when they leave. We have lots of patients that give us hugs and that just warms our heart," Demichelis said.
They hope to help upwards of 2,000 people get their smiles back by the end of the clinic on Saturday.
"We try to address their needs that they have, so that they are out of pain and hopefully give them back their smile so they can go out, maybe get a job and help them with their life," she said.
They just ask that people show up early and be prepared to wait, as it may take three to four hours to make your way through the clinic.
"The wait is nothing. We'll get through it. I'm just very grateful," Weinle said. "I'm very grateful to every volunteer here and again, I'm blessed to be here.
The free dental clinic kicks off Friday morning at 5:30 a.m. and goes through Saturday. It's happening at the Modesto Centre Plaza. They have only pre-screened 300 people on Friday. They say they are helping everyone else who lines up this weekend on a first-come, first-served basis.
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