Free dental care all day at North Olmsted practice

NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio - When financial times get tough, one of the first things families tend to give up is their dental care.

Dr. Barjesh Walters said that can be a real mistake, especially since oral health is closely linked to conditions like heart disease.

"There's such a strong association," she said.

Dr. Walters and her husband, Steve, practice dentistry together at Advanced Dental Care & Aesthetics in North Olmsted.

They offered up their services for free from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday.  Nearly 100 people showed up and received about $15,000 in free care.

Holly Wade, of Elyria, had a filling fall out months ago, and part of her tooth went with it.  She's been coping with the pain because she doesn't have dental insurance. She is self-employed and said she can't afford dental insurance for anyone in her family.

"I really need to get it looked at," she said.  She said she thought the event was "awesome".

Walters' staff volunteered their time along with more than 30 people not on staff.

One of those people was Carolyn Brown, wife of Mike Brown, who was recently fired as head coach of the Cavaliers.

"Just because we may be leaving or my husband isn't here in terms of being a coach, there still is a great need in Cleveland so as long as I'm here I still want to try to help," she said.

Carolyn said Cleveland has been very good to her family, and this is one way to say thank you.

"Dentistry from the Heart" is a national non-profit organization which has helped more than 25,000 patients across the country and provided more than $5.5 million in dental care.

Walters said they will definitely be offering the free services next year.