David Combs of Roseburg said he has had six teeth break off at the gum line and been in pain since he got into a fight and was hit in the face with a shovel a year and a half ago.

Combs, 38, hoped this morning the pain would end soon, thanks to dentists volunteering at the 12th annual Donated Dental Day at the former St. Joseph School on Stanton Street in Roseburg.

“I'm hoping to get it definitely taken care of,” he said. “I don't have any insurance, any dental or anything. This was kind of a blessing. Somebody called me and said, ‘Hey, I've got some good news for you,' and here I am.”

Tamara Loosli, dental assistant instructor at Umpqua Community College, said volunteers gave out about 150 registration forms in the first hour this morning.

Three dentists screened patients and scheduled appointments with one of about 25 dentists who have volunteers to clean teeth, fill cavities and extract teeth.

Most of the patients had broken teeth or cavities and most were adults. Many said they had suffered injuries and were unemployed. Several mentioned that the Oregon Health Plan no longer covers their dental work.

Dr. Bruce Roman, one of the dentists screening patients today, said many who came fall into a gap in which they do not have insurance but don't qualify for government assistance.

“A lot of what we do here is eliminate their pain,” Roman said.

Matthew Pierce, 28, of Glide and Regina Hopper, 40, also of Glide, came together. Pierce said he had a couple of cavities that needed to be filled or pulled. Each had a broken tooth. Hopper said they couldn't get help without Donated Dental Day.

Richard Frazier, 50, of Myrtle Creek has a loose front tooth and other teeth damaged from being hit with a limb while topping a tree. An unemployed carpenter, he said he would have had to pull the tooth himself if not for Donated Dental Day.

“I've done it a couple times,” he said. “I can't afford the doggone dental work and being unemployed doesn't help.”

One of the first children to come in this morning was 9-year-old Jacqueline Anguiano of Roseburg. She was in need of a cleaning. Roman urged her to take good care of her teeth.

“She needs to brush her teeth and floss,” Roman told her mother, Hortencia Madrigal, 44, after inspecting Anguiano's teeth. “If she doesn't do that, she's going to have lots of problems.”

Then he gave Anguiano some advice.

“You take care of those teeth,” he said. “I don't want to see you here in 25 years.”

Roman, who has volunteered for the event since it began, said he feels good about helping people. He said the program inspired a nationwide effort to provide services to those in need.

“The American Dental Association has an entire program called Give Kids a Smile that originated from our program Donated Dental Day,” Roman said. “It all started right here in Douglas County.”

• You can reach reporter Carisa Cegavske at 541-957-4213 or ccegavske@nrtoday.com.