Dentist Paul Keelan, far left, and his support staff and volunteers posed in front of Keelan Dental last May during the dental practice's Dentistry From the Heart free dental service day May 20, 2017. Last year, the practice saw 94 patients and performed more than $24,000 worth of dental procedures. This Saturday will be the fifth year the practice will be offering free dental services on a first-come, first-served basis.

A trip to the dentist isn't high on anybody's wish list, but one local practice is trying to make it more palatable by making it free.

This Saturday, Keelan Dental, 264 New Castle Road, will be offering free dental procedures from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

It's part of Dentistry From the Heart, a nonprofit organization working to supply the world with free dental services.

“This practice will be open to the community,” said Jan Jedlicka, the office manager of Keelan Dental. “It's our way of giving back, our way of saying thank you. There are no questions on income or dental insurance.”

Dentist Paul Keelan, said this will be the fifth year his practice has offered services without fees to anyone over 18 years old.

Keelan said, “There are no appointments needed. This event is first-come, first-served. And we will see patients until we reach capacity.

“There is no charge. They come in, they fill out a history and tell us what they want to get done,” he said.

“We want to see as many people as possible, so we do limit everyone to one service. You have your choice of a dental cleaning, filling or extraction,” said Keelan.

Last year, the Dentistry From the Heart event brought in 94 patients. This year Keelan estimates they will see 100 to 125 people before the 3 p.m. deadline.

To accommodate the influx of patients, Keelan said he will be joined by his practice associates, dentist Allison Dillner, and oral surgeon Meghan Barroner, who will be donating their time, as well as his support team.

He added his daughter, Morgan, who is studying dental hygiene at the University of Pittsburgh, will bring six of her classmates to the office Saturday to lend a hand and keep the patient flow moving.

However, he said, that doesn't mean thing will always go as planned.

“If a patient has multiple needs, he'll have to decide what is the priority,” he said.

“We are in the business of saving teeth, so we would suggest you plan for a filling. If we find the tooth cannot be saved we will remove the tooth,” he said.

If an exam shows the need for more extensive follow-up work, the patient will have to make a follow-up appointment that won't be a free one.

According to Dentistry From The Heart based in New Port Richey, Florida, every year, thousands of individual dentists, hygienists, volunteers, and hundreds of practices across the world donate their time and resources to host their own events.

Keelan said, he's trying to get the word out about Saturday's even through flyers at churches and health clinics, as well as Facebook postings.

“I've thought of taking mission trips out of the country, but then I realized there are a lot of needs right here,” Keelan said.

“Generosity is a core value of our practice. We try to live that and give back,” he said.