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GREENSBORO — Five hours. That was a long time for a pregnant woman to be on her feet waiting in line to get a filling at the dentist.

Not that Stephanie Atkins, one of 549 people processed for treatment by 1 p.m. at the Missions of Mercy dental clinic Friday at First Presbyterian Church, was complaining.

“I’ve got this really big crater of a cavity in the back of my mouth,” said Atkins, whose husband, Nathaniel, waited with her. “I haven’t been to an actual dentist in years. I can’t begin to tell you what this would cost.”

Without advertising, the line for the two-day clinic continuing today began forming before dawn Friday and stretched a city block by mid-morning.

In a private, nonprofit partnership that has gone city to city across the state, 35 dentists went to work in what resembled a makeshift field hospital in the church’s Life Center for a 12-hour marathon of fillings, cleanings and extractions.

Waiting in line on the sidewalk, Joyce Jones had a typical scenario: She hasn’t had insurance since she had a “good” job as an MCI operator. Working part time, she has no dental coverage, and paying out of pocket would cost $90 for a cleaning alone. “I can’t afford dental work,” she said. “Not even a cleaning.”

A dangerous misconception, observed congregational nurse Maggie Turner, is that dental care is secondary, and that unlike other types of medical care, it can be safely deferred.

In fact, the pouch of infection from an abscessed tooth can cause sepsis via the bloodstream. Turner, who worked at St. Luke’s in Utica, N.Y., lost three patients to this.

“If you don’t have money, you’re going to take care of your hypertension before you take care of your dental work,” Turner said. “But it basically can kill you, too.”

As intake workers did paperwork and blood pressure readings, the vital signs told a deeper tale.

Retired Greensboro dentist Mike Weisenfeld said that as many as half of the patients screened had high blood pressure — suggesting that lack of dental coverage goes hand-in-hand with a lack of access to medical care.

Weisenfeld, who volunteered as a surgeon for the N.C. Dental Society event co-sponsored by Moses Cone, said he felt he was getting more out of the clinic than those treated.

But outside on the sidewalk, where the line had to be cut off at 1 p.m. and the rest who had waited sent home for the day, organizer Fran Pearson felt a mix of emotions about the overwhelming need the clinic demonstrated.

“It’s disgusting. People should be angry,” said Pearson, director of the Congregational Social Work Education Initiative at the church. “I hope this stirs anger, and a commitment by the community.”

Contact Lorraine Ahearn at 373-7334 or lorraine.ahearn@news-record.com