Compassion Clinic spreading smiles by Christy K. Robinson As the patient reclined in the chair, clenching and unclenching his fists, and tapping his blue jeans-clad thigh in a nervous tattoo, his dentist calmly prepared to treat the man. Erin Carpenter Estey, SD'98, spoke in a soothing voice, and asked the patient how he'd heard about Compassion Clinic. He answered that it had been announced in his church that morning. His breathing was fast and shallow as he anticipated the removal of two teeth.   Mark Carpenter, SD'80, restores a patient's tooth at the Compassion Clinic.   "Would you like for me to pray for you?" asked Dr. Estey. After his assent, she placed her hand on his shoulder and prayed for peace and healing for the patient. Within moments, his body relaxed and he breathed slowly and deeply. First using a topical anesthetic, and then the syringe, Dr. Estey anesthetized the patient and began the procedures. ...she placed her hand on his shoulder and prayed for peace and healing for the patient.   Compassion Clinic is a free dental clinic which began operations on January 10, 1999, in Loma Linda University's SAC-Norton Dental Clinic. It is staffed by volunteers two Sundays a month, from noon to 6:00 p.m. Dentists and student dentists and hygienists from the School of Dentistry, as well as personnel from SAC-Norton Dental Clinic and from the private dental practice of Drs. Mark Carpenter and Erin Estey, donate their time and expertise to help members of the community. Between 20 and 30 patients are served at each clinic session. The patients return until their treatment is complete, then another patient is added. According to Mark Carpenter, SD'80, Compassion Clinic's founder, the clinic is responding in Christian love to serve the most needy people of the Inland Empire. "Referral and screening for eligibility is provided by eight faith-based agencies who regularly serve the poor in our area," says Dr. Carpenter. "Clients have no other resource for care and are living at the level of poverty, where the average income is $5,500 a year."   Jodi Sceville, SD'99, finishes cleaning a patient's teeth.   Patients of Compassion Clinic are referred and transported by churches with outreach ministries: Loma Linda University Church of Seventh-day Adventists, Lutheran Central City, Salvation Army, St. Mary's, The Rock Christian Center, Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, Set Free Ministries, Ecclesia, and San Bernardino Nazarene. The service learning department of the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry oversees the clinic and provides student volunteers. Dr. Carpenter, assistant professor of restorative dentistry, says that many patients have told him that more than anything, they were praying for dental care. "What a joy it is to be a part of prayers answered!" he says.   Mark Estey, SD'98, a prosthodontics graduate student, volunteers at Compassion Clinic.   The first patient to complete treatment in Compassion Clinic was Willie, 40 years old, who spent 25 years addicted to drugs. When he was caught trying to steal a van, the van's owners brutally assaulted him, knocking out two of Willie's teeth. A Seventh-day Adventist man witnessed the assault and intervened. He visited Willie in the hospital, and paid for a bus ticket from New York City to Loma Linda, so that Willie could enter the Drug Alternative Program (DAP). Willie accepted God's gift of salvation and healing through DAP's therapy. When he started looking for employment, he prayed for the means to replace his front teeth. At that time, Compassion Clinic opened. They treated his periodontal disease and made for him a temporary partial denture so Willie could present a complete and beautiful smile. Bertie, 36, is another patient, who has eight children farmed out to various families. She had been on drugs and in jail, but is now in the Set Free Ministries' Christian living school and has been sober for nearly a year. "God is restoring my life, my family, and even my teeth!" she exults. "I never thought I would get my teeth back!" Compassion Clinic depends on private donations, says Dr. Carpenter. Although the treatments are free to patients, the overhead cost is approximately $15 per patient visit, excluding laboratory fees for replacement teeth. He and sponsoring agencies are asking Inland Empire residents, businesses, and churches to partner with the program to sponsor a dental chair for one day ($60), a clinic for one day ($600 for 40 patients), or for a month ($1,200). Donations are tax deductible and should be sent to Loma Linda University School of Dentistry's department of service learning, designated for the Compassion Clinic, at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, Loma Linda, CA 92350. University | Medical_Center | LLU&MC_home | Search | Employment | News_&_events | Academics | Our_mission | Admissions | Registration | Research | Alumni | Student_resources All contents copyright © 2001 Loma Linda University. All rights reserved. Revised February 28, 2001 Send comments and questions to webmaster@univ.llu.edu  URL: http://www.llu.edu