WILLIAMSBURG — The dentists and hygienists who work at Morrison Dental Group are gearing up for the group’s annual Smiles for Heroes initiative, set to take place on Oct. 25.
Smiles for Heroes is a full day of providing dental care to veterans in need. The program is open to any veteran who does not have dental insurance and includes cleanings, fillings and extractions.
Dr. Robert Morrison, a former Navy dentist, started the initiative after leaving the military.
“Dr. Morrison has always had a huge heart for veterans. Being in this area, we’ve had a lot of employees, employee families, who have served. It’s just something that we noticed as a need in the community and wanted to be able to give back,” Becky Morrison, Chief Marketing Officer of Morrison Dental Group, said.
The 2025 program will take place at the Morrison Dental Group’s offices in Norge, Hampton and East Beach/Norfolk.
During the Oct. 25 event, the offices will perform various dental procedures to veterans without dental insurance, free of charge.
One veteran is also chosen by each of the Morrison Dental Group’s three offices to receive treatment beyond what can be done on the day of the program.
“When a veteran is finished with their treatment or sometimes even before that, they are frequently left tearing up. They usually bring a family member with them, and there’s a lot of tears and hugs that go around. You can visually see the impact that this one day has on these folks lives. Some of them have really struggled and have it hard. To be able to take a little bit of time and being able to help them is incredibly gratifying,” Morrison said.
Morrison explained that the group is currently searching for volunteers with and without dental backgrounds to help.
“The more hands on deck that we have, the better. We are still in need for dental hygienists, we need greeters, we need people who can help with intake forms, and things of that nature. We’re also looking for community support. This is completely non-profit, where we just open our doors, so it does have a lot of cost that comes with it for dental supplies that we need to be able to provide this,” Morrison said.
Food or gift card donations are also accepted, as the group feeds both volunteers and veterans throughout the day.
Applications for volunteers are being accepted now, and the window for appointment times will open up by the end of September.
For more information, visit morrisondentalgroup.com/community.