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Are you like Jamie? Small bus and no dental insurance

Jamie Ford is like many other small business owners, dental insurance is out of the question. But we have a solution.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Thousands of folks are in the same boat as Jamie Ford. In fact, it might be you or someone in your family.But we have a solution.

Jamie runs "Jamie's Tree Service," and his small business sometimes just scrapes by.

Not easy for a father and husband.

Especially difficult when Jamie needed four teeth pulled and couldn't afford a dentist.

Jamie says he was in so much pain that he couldn't stand it. He took eight Tylenol at one time, even though he knew it wasn't a good idea.

Still, he hurt.

But then he found the tiny Healing Hands clinic on Timuquana Road. They pulled his teeth for free.

It wasn't just the pain, though, that became a serious issue. He had developed MRSA, an infection that could have killed him.

Many people don't realize an infected tooth can set off a deadly consequence -- it can kill.

But the Healing Hands clinic has more than 500 people now on the waiting list

So First Coast News, Community Outreach and The Weaver Foundation are working to build a new, free dental clinic for uninsured, low income families on the First Coast.

Anything you donate will be matched by the Weaver Foundation up to $100,000 total.

Stop by any Chick-fil-A this week (until September 14) and drop your loose change in the apple jars by the registers. You can also hold a fundraiser.

The clinic would open next year, if the funds come through.

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