BY ELIZABETH LONG

 

When business is good, most professionals look toward the future. Dr. Greg Orsimarsi, however, devotes his time to looking back—and giving back. He manages to do both most Tuesday nights, when he goes back to his alma mater, the Medical University of South Carolina, to provide free dental care to families in need.

      Orsimarsi isn’t alone. He and five other dentists from his church, St. Andrew’s in Mt. Pleasant, wanted to do something together to give back to the community. Many of them went to MUSC and remembered the giving-back program. They contacted the school to see if they could offer their services, and they’ve been volunteering there ever since.

      With some of the best dentists in Charleston participating, the program’s popularity skyrocketed. At the same time, Orsimarsi and his fellow dentists are not only achieving their goal of helping people who truly need it, but they’re also giving back to the school that gave so much to them.  

      MUSC instilled this giving-back attitude from the beginning, says Orsimarsi. “Even before we graduated, we would still attend these decreased dental days,” he recalls. “We all love helping people in need. They are the people that keep us going.”

      He and his peers from St. Andrew’s have also encouraged other dentists and dental assistants to get involved. “Most of us look for ways to give back, because we are so fortunate to have received our degrees from MUSC,” Orsimarsi explains, “and we are so lucky that the school itself has the same attitude.” 

      As many as 44 percent of Americans don’t go the dentist because they can’t afford it, a statistic that the dentists involved in the program are hoping to reduce.

      “We do all that we can for these people,” says Frankie Maffett, an MUSC dental school graduate who now manages the Dental Faculty Practice there and runs owns his own dental practice, Maffett dental care on James Island, with his wife. “We all feel that sense of loyalty back to MUSC, because it more than prepared us for the dental world.”

            Maffett enthusiastically volunteers for the free Tuesday clinics. "Most people come to the dentist almost dreading it, but these people look forward to it," he says. "It’s always nice to help people, but it’s even better when you know that they are truly appreciative.”