Free dental care in Edmonds a huge hit

EDMONDS -- Alex and Hayley Smith spent seven hours waiting for their turn in the dentist's chair.

When the Lynnwood couple heard that Edmonds Woodway Dental Care on Saturday offered free dental work, they didn't want to miss the opportunity.

Dr. Michael Hrankowski, along with another dentist, three dental assistants and one hygienist were providing free cleanings, fillings and extractions on a first-come, first-served basis,

"Dental work is not cheap, so if it's being offered for free, we're gonna do it," said Alex Smith, 39, who got laid off last month from his job as a branch manager at a firm.

"This certainly helps when you don't have dental insurance," said Hayley Smith, 30. The Smiths have five young children to care for, and their own dental work is low on the couple's priority list.

At least two dozen people were already in line when the Smiths, in matching black leather jackets and blue jeans, showed up at the dental clinic at 7 a.m. The doctor wasn't scheduled to start seeing people till 9 o'clock.

"You just have to have patience I guess," Alex Smith said. In the seven hours they were waiting, the couple heard a lot of stories from a lot of jobless men and women.

At one point, Alex Smith said he counted 100 people waiting for their turn to see the dentist. Most of them stood outside in the cold, as the clinic's waiting room proved far too small to hold them all.

The clinic's staff were stunned at how many people turned up, said office manager Wayne Wilke. Many people who came later had to be turned away, but they left armed with a list of places where they can get low-cost dental care.

Wilke said the staff had hoped to serve about 50 people before the end of the day.

"We've been running around like chickens with their heads cut off," said Hrankowski' who has been periodically offering free care throughout his career.

Many people in line had been laid off from their jobs and lost insurance, Wilke said. Others were in state care, which typically doesn't cover dental work. They shared stories about how they navigate the system.

When staff began turning people away, no one hesitated to let an older woman move to the front of the line, Wilke said.

Peter Angulo, 23, took a bus from Marysville hoping he can get his chipped tooth finally taken care of. Angulo came too late and was disappointed: He missed a day of work at a tire shop in Marysville. "When an opportunity like this opens up, you gotta take advantage of it," he said.

The opportunity passed by him, but Angulo plans to take his chipped tooth to the University of Washington School of Dentistry. Although that will be quite a bus trip to plan, he said.

At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Andre Bryant, 26, was one of only about a dozen people left in the waiting room. A music artist from Shoreline, Bryant heard about the free event on the radio and went to get his wisdom tooth pulled.

Bryant teaches at the Art Institute of Seattle but currently doesn't have benefits. "It's worth it because it's free, and it's the weekend anyway," he said.

Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.