Florida Doc's $1 Million Valentine's Gift to All

TAMPA BAY, Fla. (January 18, 2006) – Each Valentine’s Day, Dr. Vincent Monticciolo spreads goodwill and cheer to his local community with his Dentistry From The Heart event. Dentistry From The Heart is an annual Valentine’s gift of free fillings, extractions and cleanings to the first 500 people who show up at the Tampa Bay practice. He’s hoping Dentistry From The Heart spreads to communities nationwide by enlisting other practices to hold their own free dental events during the year.

Dentistry From The Heart is coming upon its fifth year of offering free dentistry to the needy and Dr. Monticciolo is doing what he can to turn it into a national movement among other practices. In the lead up to the event planned for February 10, 2006, Dr Monticciolo has been actively urging dentists across the nation to hold their own Dentistry From The Heart events for one day out of the year as a gesture of goodwill and appreciation to their respective communities. Last year he gave away over $100,000 in free dental care to his local community. This year he hopes communities all over the nation receive millions of dollars in free dental work.

At an annual dental conference in Atlanta, Dr Monticciolo spoke about the program and offered Dentistry From The Heart packets with checklists, advertising plans, sample sponsorship request forms, sample press releases and an informational disc on how other dentists can implement the event at their own practices and why it matters to the community.

Year round, dentists from around the country call to learn more about implementing their own programs and he provides his www.dentistryfromtheheart.org site with a checklist and ready-made promotional materials for dentists ready to take part. This year, dentists from 8-10 other states have participated in their own events for the first time and Dr. Monticciolo has made it a personal goal to get thousands of dentists to take part in the program.

During his February 11, 2005 event, Dr. Monticciolo and his volunteer staff of more than 50 treated over 500 patients in a single day. The team performed more than 500 extractions and provided cleanings valued at $100,000. People began lining up in the parking lot the night before with lawn chairs in tow at approximately 8:00 PM and endured the frigid 40-degree Florida temperature.

Dr. Monticciolo got the idea for Dentistry From The Heart when he read about a similar program being offered by another dentist in a dental journal. At first, he and his staff would select a needy local family and provide the members with free dental care. Later, he expanded the idea to include anyone who showed up at his door on the appointed day.

“Dentistry From The Heart is a way of giving thanks for our own successes,” Dr. Monticciolo said. “We encourage other offices to hold it on any day during the year that works best for them.” Other local dentists and their staff lend their services and support for Dr. Monticciolo during the event, enabling the event to treat the hundreds of people who need it.

Dr. Monticciolo’s goodwill has spread to the local, non-dental community too. Medical supply companies, local restaurants and convenience stores donate their time and goods to his Dentistry From The Heart cause.

While Dentistry From The Heart is one of the most important days for his practice and local community, Dr. Monticciolo visualizes a day when it becomes bigger still. “We envision a day that is sort of a big health care carnival which can help everyone with all sorts of problems at no cost,” he said.

Dr. Monticciolo and his team do whatever they can on Dentistry From The Heart day to relieve pain and fix problems. Patients who need ongoing care or have problems that cannot be fixed in one day are referred to community clinics, where they can receive ongoing treatment at low or no cost.

A Michigan native, Dr. Monticciolo earned his dental degree at the University of Detroit. He and his family moved to Florida in 1998 when his wife was awarded a medical residency at a hospital in Largo, Florida. Dentistry From The Heart happens just one day a year. On other days, Dr. Monticciolo runs a successful Tampa Bay family and sedation dentistry practice. His office performs a full range of dental procedures, and he is also licensed for intravenous and oral sedation dentistry. For more information visit www.happydentistry.com or www.dentistryfromtheheart.org
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