Two area dental practices offering day of free care

Alicia Bowman helps run her husband’s practice, Bowman Dental in Walpole. She said the barriers to regular dental care are real for a lot of people, and the notion that, even for a day, they might make that care possible drives their cause.

“We’re not sure just what to expect, but we anticipate we’ll have a good turnout,” she said. “We’ve reached out to shelters and places where we feel there might be people in need. We’re able to use our staff, our resources, our practice to do this, and volunteers from the community are stepping up to help, too. That’s how it seems to work.”

Bowman Dental is offering free care for the day Friday; registration begins at 7:30 a.m.; it’s first come, first served.

Raynor Dental has a practice on Court Street in Keene and at Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough. It is offering a day of free care too, on Friday, Dec. 1, at both sites.

The gap between suggested care and what people can afford is “large and unmet,” Dr. Jason “Jay” Raynor said. “By offering a whole day of free care … we can maximize what we can contribute back to the community.”

Neither effort is meant to be a one-time quick fix. Rather, it’s hoped, Raynor and Dr. Peter Bowman said, that a measure of help might be just what one person — or a few — need.

It’s the first time both dentists have offered the free care day. They said they now have the staff and resources to make it happen. Raynor and his wife, Dr. Stephanie Raynor, have the two practices staffed by five dentists, including themselves. The Bowmans opened their practice in 2009. Peter Bowman said he’s wanted to do this for about four years. He said it’s common for dentists to travel abroad in less privileged regions to help people in need; he does and will again this year. But helping the local people he knows need help “has a direct and positive impact” at home.

Professional dental care is a multi-billion industry, and growing. Yet for many, the mere prospect of affording a routine cleaning is out of reach.

The reality is, a lot of people lack dental coverage. Even with insurance, costs for regular care can be prohibitive.

Jay Raynor said the idea that you can “make a big impact in a short period of time” is reason enough to offer the care. At their practices, one procedure per patient will be available, he said, for those who lack dental insurance. An ID will need to be shown, Raynor said. And while there is surely “a ton of need,” he said that he felt, in general, dental care in the region he serves is more attainable than it’s been for a while. He cited an improved economy and good, purpose-driven dentists.

Raynor said donating dental services is more common than might be imagined, that it’s done in varying measures, without much notice, throughout the year. “If there is someone really in need, we can find ways,” he said. “Recovering addicts often have that need; we’ll take on two or three full-mouth cases annually.”

Earlier this year Raynor Dental held a “Brush & Floss with Ribby,” a program to encourage healthy dental home care habits for children. More than 125 children completed the program by tracking their care over a two-week period. Ribby is the Keene Swamp Bats’ team mascot.

Peterborough is a region with a lot of young families, Stephanie Raynor said, and a lot of children have Medicaid coverage. For that reason, the Raynors said, they are anticipating that their free-care day will be largely geared toward adults.

“We’ll be here to help," Stephanie Raynor said, “without judgment and with the same compassion we have for all our patients.”

At Bowman Dental, those who take advantage of the free care offer Friday can opt for a cleaning, a filing or an extraction, Alicia Bowman said. They will take a panoramic X-ray beforehand, she said, in the event it reveals something telling that might affect the decision of which procedure to have makes most sense.

Bowman Dental is at 48 Meadow Acres Lane in Walpole. Free care is offered Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration begins as early as 7:30 a.m.

Raynor Dental is at 650 Court St., Suite 4, in Keene, and at in the Medical Arts Building at Monadnock Community Hospital, at 454 Old Street Road, Suite 102, in Peterborough. Free care is offered Dec. 1.