When many veterans return home, their health benefits don't cover dental care. But Saturday, nearly 200 Western New York veterans were able to get work dental work done, free of charge. 

It was Mark Robbins' first time taking advantage of the University at Buffalo's annual Dentistry Smiles on Veterans program. He was stationed in Germany from 1985 until 1992, when Desert Storm had just begun. Since returning home, he's been able to have surgeries covered by his VA benefits, but when it comes to dental care, no such luck.

"I mean the healthcare is great but not having dental, it's hard sometimes to keep up with it," said Robbins.

Robbins attended Saturday's event in hopes of getting a cleaning and his chipped tooth fixed. And with the help of more than 100 dentists, hygienists and UB dental students volunteering throughout the day, all different kinds of procedures were taken care of. 

"Cleanings, we do some extractions for people that are in pain or we got a broken tooth that we can fix. We're restoring teeth whether with white fillings or silver fillings. We're also doing some denture repairs," said Brendan Dowd, a clinical assistant professor at the UB School of Dental Medicine.

The annual event has helped serve around 700 Veterans in last five years. Many of those veterans are now patients at the clinic getting affordable routine dental care.

"Coming in every six months or once a year, it helps for their overall health as well as their dental health," said Dowd.

While Robbins says this free clinic might be his best option for now, he's happy to see the community taking care of the men and women that served, living throughout it.

"It's good to give back. It's like Christmas all the time, my kids that's their favorite, Christmas time but I tell them you see something you give help, you help where you can," said Robbins.