BRIGHTON, Colo. -- It’s called a Mission of Mercy.

Nearly 300 dentists, hygienists and assistants will offer their services Friday and Saturday to help people who can’t afford dental care.

The free clinic is being staged at the Adams County Regional Park at 9755 Henderson Road just south of Brighton.

The clinic officially opens at 5 a.m. Friday.

Volunteers got an inkling of the demand when the first two patients showed up in the parking lot at 4:45 p.m. Thursday.

Both planned to camp outside the front door all night.

“I have some teeth that are in bad shape,” said David Hathaway. “I’m very thankful that these folks are taking it upon themselves to see what they can do to help.”

“It makes you glad to be a part of such a community,” said the first patient in line, a woman named Robin. “I know I have a couple of cavities and don’t have insurance. I’m so grateful to have someone help me out with that.”

“It’s very humbling for us to see how many people need the care,” said Dr. Jeff Hurst, head of anesthesia for the Colorado Mission of Mercy.

“We will get them clean. We have oral cancer screening. And we’ll do fillings, both silver and tooth colored. We’ll even do a few root canals,” Hurst said.

Most of the volunteers are members of the Colorado Dental Association.

Dr. Pasco Scarpella is part of the team that helped establish the mission in Colorado.

He said the work is very rewarding.

“I’ve seen guys who are 6 feet 6, 300 pounds cry like babies and give you the biggest bear hug for doing what we do for them,” Scarpella said.

The dentists say the demand is phenomenal. They expect to see upward of 2,000 patients, many who haven’t had dental care for 10 to 12 years.

“They don’t have the money to do anything about it,” Scarpella said. “They just suffer for years and years and years with these problems.”

Hurst told 7NEWS that the dentists will even do a few root canals and will try to make removable front teeth for those who have to have theirs pulled.

“It’s so important for people who are thinking about applying for a job,” Hurst said. “They’re very reluctant to apply if they can’t smile or if they don’t have any confidence in themselves.”

The two-day clinic is not taking appointments. It is treating people on a first-come, first-served basis. To get more information on what to expect, what to bring and directions, click here.

The Colorado Dental Association provided free clinics in Alamosa in 2007 and in Loveland last year.

At the Loveland Mission of Mercy, nearly 900 volunteers provided 1,411 patients with $1.1 million in donated dental care.

Jan Nansel had some dental work done during last year’s clinic. He decided to repay the doctors by helping them set up chairs and equipment at this year’s clinic.

When asked what it would have been like without the dental work, Nansel replied, “I’d probably be hurting.”