Free Dental Day Helps Combat Rising Cost of Dental Care

For Dr. Steven Broughton and his staff at Light Dental Studio on South Hill, giving back to the local community where the practice began is second nature.

As the years have passed since Broughton graduated dental school in 1997, the price of dentistry has skyrocketed, he said.

“People simply don’t have the money to fix their teeth,” Broughton said.

Gordon McCoy came to a free dental care event Saturday expecting to get at least one of his painful decaying teeth treated. Instead, he got a new set of pearly whites at the South Sound Free Dental Day. McCoy was one of more than 100 people treated free of charge by a team of 14 dentists and 75 staff members at Light Dental Studios in South Hill.