8 | May 4, 2017 | The frankfort station news frankfortstation.com Frankfort dentist to offer free cleanings, fillings Dentistry From The Heart will take place from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, May 6 James Sanchez Contributing Editor For the past handful of years, there’s always a day in May when Atrium Family Dental in New Lenox is at its busiest. Lines are out the door and each of the patient rooms are occupied throughout the day. The hustle and bustle is something Atrium’s operations manager Sara Sudman and her husband, Shane, a dentist, embrace, despite their business not making a single penny from the day’s work. Atrium annually hosts a day of free cleanings, fillings and extractions as part of Dentistry From The Heart – a nonprofit worldwide organization whose initiative is to provide free dental care for those in need. This year’s event is to take place from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at their office located on 1938 E. Lincoln Highway in New Lenox. “It’s something that I look forward to every year,” Shane said, who lives in Frankfort with his wife. “I enjoy doing what I do, so going out and doing a mission trip to Honduras [back in March] and doing charity events, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.” Patients will be served on a first-come, first-served basis. Everybody gets a cleaning, and after, they could get one filling or extraction. Those seeking additional fillings or extractions could be accommodated, but they would have to wait back in line so dentists could serve all visitors. However, multiple teeth could be worked Frankfort resident Dr. Shane Sudman of Atrium Family Dental works on Julie Rice during 2016’s Dentistry From The Heart event. 22nd Century Media File Photo on in one session if they’re next to each other since the novocaine would already be numbing that area. Sara recalled one year when a woman asked for all eight of her remaining teeth to be pulled. All of them were unsalvageable, as they were either broken or rotted. They were all in different areas, too, so she went back in line multiple times. “I could not believe it,” Sara said. “She walked in with eight teeth and left with none. She was on a mission to get them all pulled because she knew she needed dentures. I could understand because if you don’t have the money to go to the dentist, and the alternative is to just to get it all pulled to make it cheaper in the long run for her, then just pull it.” Sara said the woman’s other teeth were pulled at other Dentistry From The Heart events, adding that families rely on the organization as their sole dental provider. Sara has dealt with hundreds of people since starting the program – some from Indiana and Michigan. In the past, she has seen lines forming outside the office as early as 6 a.m. The planning for the event starts a year in advance. Sara and Shane have to solidify a date to Dentistry From The Heart early so it is posted on its site. Six months later is when they ask vendors to donate toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, material for fillings and novocaine. To help alleviate the workload, Shane brings on an additional dentist, and now a third dentist, who Shane met on the mission trip, will also contribute. In addition, there will be extra hygienists and 30 volunteers. Shane said the most rewarding part is the response he receives after he’s done with the patients, especially children who have a positive experience after initially being afraid to go. He said people often overlook how a clean mouth can better a person’s physical and mental health. “There are constant research studies that show that having an unhealthy mouth can cause several systemic diseases,” Shane said. “Whether if it’s a stroke, diabetes, pancreatic cancer, there’s just so many things that are linked to that. “People who don’t have teeth or have dentures can have digestive problems because they can’t chew up their food properly.” As busy as May 6 might be, it might feel easier after what they experienced earlier this spring in Honduras, when they provided care for hundreds of people with seemingly worse oral issues in a makeshift clinic. Now, Shane and Sara will be in the comfort of their own office with their own equipment, but the goal remains the same. “Some of the people that we see on this day are similar to the patients we saw in Honduras,” Sara said. “The interesting part is whether we’re in a third-world country or a country where there shouldn’t be any poverty, there are still people lacking dental care and need help.”
frankfortstation.com Frankfort the frankfort station | May 4, 2017 | 9
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