People of the Southern tier were treated to a free day of dental care for the 20th annual Doctors with a Heart Day.


Today at various progressive dental locations, dozens of volunteers helped to treat hundreds of patients with urgent dental needs and financial hardship.


Any dental service that could be performed and completed in one visit -- such as cleanings, fillings and x-rays -- were offered free of charge on a first come, first serve basis.


"Many times there's other diseases that are going on that you can find very early in the mouth. and, generally speaking, a mouth with a full set of teeth, healthy, has a longer life expectancy, has more nutritional input and intake. It's just much healthier, overall, to have healthy teeth and gums," said Dr. Sonny Spera, DDS.


Over the past 20 years, participating doctors and staff have treated thousands of patients and completed almost $1 million dollars worth of dental services.