West Des Moines Dentists Offer Free Clinic Again This Year

, which offered $50,000 in free dental service to more than 100 struggling and out-of-work Iowans, will offer the clinic again this year at its West Des Moines office on Sept. 14.

Lifepoint Dental Partners, formerly known as Lifetime Dental Partners, will offer the services from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at its office at 1903 E.P. True Pkwy. Services, which include fillings, extractions and cleanings, are offered on a first come, first-served basis. Registration starts at 7 a.m.

The clinic is part of the national nonprofit Dentistry from the Heart program.

Dr. Mindy Richtsmeier, one of the dentists in the practice, said after last year’s free clinic that “it’s really important to give back.”

“It’s what makes all things worthwhile, especially when there is a need,” she said.

Some of those seen during the clinic suffered from oral disease, but many were just people who had to give up regular doctor visit when the economy soured.

“It’s hard, especially when you don’t have insurance, to find that money in your savings account because there are so many other areas in your life where that money is needed,” she said. “I hear that a lot from people.”

"It just reaffirms the whole reason we did this," Richtsmeier said last year.