BIDDEFORD — Other than for one serious dental problem several years ago, Jean Lariviere estimates it’s been about 25 years since he visited a dentist. On Thursday, that streak ended as Lariviere was one of the first patients to be seen at the Biddeford Free Dental Clinic.

“I haven’t been able to afford dental care,” said Lariviere on Thursday evening, the second evening the free dental clinic was open.

Volunteer dentists and dental hygienists at the newly established Free Dental Clinic saw their first patients on Feb. 2. The clinic will be open for patient visits the first Tuesday and third Thursday of each month at the recently completed offices of Community Dental at the Robert G. Dodge Business Park in Biddeford.

Because of the troubled economy, the need for this service is larger now than it has been throughout his 27-year career, said Dr. Joseph Kenneally. He said because numerous people can’t afford dental care, they end up at hospital emergency rooms.

Approximately 800 patients per year with dental pain come to the Southern Maine Medical Center emergency room complaining of dental pain, said hospital spokeswoman Sue Hadiaris. But the emergency room doesn’t have the resources to handle the underlying the problem, she said, and can only treat the acute problem through prescribing antibiotics or pain medication.

“The care of dental issues is very specific and best handled by a dentist,” said Hadiaris.

At the clinic’s opening night, Lariviere was one of a half dozen clients seen for a pretreatment screening. At that time he was told he needed a filling for a cavity, and that two teeth needed to be repaired, one tooth was broken and another had a hairline crack.

Lariviere said he was thrilled the clinic was open because of all the dental work  he needs to have done.

“These people are providing a valuable service,” said Lariviere of the dentists, dental hygienists and staff who were volunteering their time.

Dr. Jay Beauchamin was one of several dentists who were at the clinic during Lariviere’s visit. Unlike the others, he wasn’t seeing patients on Thursday,

Instead, Beauchamin, who has been one of those integral in getting the Free Dental Clinic up and running, was focusing on making sure things flowed smoothly.

Since it was only the second night the clinic was open, there were still a few kinks to work out. Beauchamin was spending his time assisting dentists with learning the computer system and helping them find supplies and equipment in the new offices.

“I want to keep everybody happy,” said Beauchamin about the volunteers, “and keep them coming back.”

Beauchamin said he feels very invested in making the clinic a success.

“It’s kind of my baby,” he said.

For more than a year, he has worked to get the free dental clinic going, but he noted that he’s just one of many who have played an instrumental role in the clinic’s opening.

Some of the others include: Kenneally, president of the York County Dental Society who has been the driving force in lining up the volunteer dentists; the non-profit organization Community Dental, which is allowing the clinic the use of its new, state-or-the-art facilities; the Biddeford Free Clinic, a medical clinic which is screening the patients for the dental clinic; and all the volunteers, from dentists to hygienists to lay staff people.

“Everybody here,” said Beauchamin on Thursday, “has kids, and they’re here ”“ how neat is that.”

Dr. Mark Britten, accompanied by his assistant Kathy Rondeau, was one of the volunteer dentists seeing patients on Thursday.

Britten, along with Beauchamin, had been involved in a previous free dental clinic in Saco that was open in the 1990s, that closed for a variety of reasons.

He chooses to volunteer, said Britten, “just to give back to the community.”

The facility, which is home to the new dental clinic, is much different than the one that housed the previous clinic, said Britten.

“This is much nicer,” said Britten, “this is a brand new facility.”

“This facility is awesome,” said Dr. Mark Nadeau, who was at the clinic for his first time on Thursday. “I’m thrilled to be able to do it,” he said about volunteering.

The volunteers have their work cut out for them.

There is already a backlog of about 80 people to see, said Judy Beauchamin, Jay Beauchamin’s wife, who is also volunteering at the clinic.

“Most people (who will be seen at the dental clinic) have complicated needs,” said Judy Beauchamin. “Many haven’t seen dentists for years.”

The goal, said her husband, is to have two dentists and two hygienists each night the clinic is open, with a total of 12 patients seen each evening.

Some of the services that the clinic will provide include teeth cleaning, scaling and root planing, fillings, root canals on front teeth and extractions, said Jay Beauchamin.

In the future, he said, he hopes the clinic will be able to offer full and partial dentures.

In order to get an appointment with the dental clinic, clients must first be patients of the Biddeford Free Clinic, and fit in with that clinic’s eligibility criteria.

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.