Leonza Brewer was happy to see the long silver needle filled with anaesthesia being pushed into his gums Friday.

It was his only hope of getting some relief for the pain he suffers while eating. Brewer, 62, said he needs six teeth removed. But due to the hundreds expected at the N.C. Missions of Mercy free dental clinic, he could only have a wisdom tooth and a back molar extracted.

"As long as they're out," the Durham resident said. "I can't eat soup for the rest of my life."

The statewide mobile clinic made a stop at Hillborough's Big Barn Convention Center on Friday and Saturday where -- along with about 200 students, faculty and staff from the UNC School of Dentistry -- they provided cleanings, fillings and extractions for poor residents.

They turned the center into a large operation consisting of three long tables of dental equipment and about 15 patient chairs per table. Before sitting in a chair, patients received X-rays of their teeth and had their blood pressure and pulse checked.

"The main thing that we see is that most of the patients need so much treatment," said Savannah Glesko, clinic project manager. "We can work on one patient all day long and maybe not even finish all the treatment they need."

Clinic founder Steve Slott expected up to 400 patients in Hillsborough. In the program's five years, the clinics have seen about 20,000 people who have received an estimated $5 million worth of dental work. In March, about 900 people showed up at a clinic in Rocky Mount.

For the patients, the program serves as a short-term dental solution.

"In the long term, it's going to take much more than this," Slott said. "There are a million people in this state alone that are without adequate access to health care."

Many dentists are unwilling to see Medicaid patients because their reimbursement rates don't fully cover their costs, he said. This is why he says dentists across the state request his clinics.

"They can't do Medicaid, but they want to do something," he said.

Jonelle Stovall first realized the state's need for more dentists while volunteering with her father, a dentist, at a Goldsboro clinic two years ago.

"With the economy the way it is right now, every time you see a new patient, it's a different story," said Stovall, 26, a fourth-year UNC dental student.

Stovall, along with dental assistant student Ginny Johnson, worked on removing Brewer's teeth. Stovall used a screwdriver-like tool to loosen each tooth before pulling it out with a clamp.

Brewer didn't flinch during the 20-minute procedure -- he'd had this done before.

"I feel like a new man, I'm serious," he said afterward. "She knows what she's doing."

FREE DENTAL SCREENINGS TODAY

Families are invited to visit Kidzu Children's Museum, 105 E. Franklin St., from 1 to 4:30 p.m. today when a public health hygienist will provide free dental screenings for children, free toothbrushes, and information about how to keep teeth healthy and strong during infancy and childhood. Admission will be free of charge all day as part of Kidzu's new Free Sundays Program.