The Hillside Village community center is the last place one would think of going to sit in a dentist chair. But recently, the community center, a living room and kitchen were turned over to Dr. Ghassan Khoury, 43, a dentist from Lexington with a growing following. To his friends, to his patients, he is Dr. Gus.

Dr. Gus provides free dental service to seniors and he has been doing it here for four years. There are a lot of senior citizens on the Island who are in need of dental work but can’t afford it. “They have chronic gum disease,” the dentist said, “or they have chronic tooth decay. For them it is too expensive to have it done.”

So Dr. Gus loads up his small black Infinity hatchback with boxes of all kinds of portable gear and drives over to the Vineyard. On this day he has the X-ray machine set up in the kitchen, adjacent to where he sees his patients. A bright spotlight shines down on the patient he is seeing. Nearby is a little stand for his dentistry tools. The room is quiet. A simple changing room screen stands to offer some privacy.

“He is a blessing,” said Louisa Luening of Woodside Village, one of his patients, visiting this afternoon. “I have horrible teeth and to have him here on the Vineyard is a blessing.”

For Sarah Kuh, director of Vineyard Smiles and the Vineyard Health Care Access program, this is a big project with little funds. “As long as I’ve been doing this, I think people have been extremely grateful. I love doing this. If you ever talk to a person who has not seen a dentist in five years, after they’ve seen a dentist, they are all smiles. They feel really good about themselves.”

Ms. Kuh coordinates the seniors who see Dr. Gus and another doctor, Dr. Anthony Cardone. While the medical care is paid for, it isn’t paid for by the patients. The two men see about 100 Island seniors each year who are in need. Many more will see the hygienist Ellen Gould of Chatham, who comes over more frequently and sees a lot more.

The hygienist and two dentists are also accustomed to meeting with patients at other places, like any one of the Island’s councils on aging. They also will give assistance and help as many as 400 children in the local schools.

“Gus comes over to the Island four times a year to see seniors. He may see as many as 40 to 50 patients in a year. These are low income patients. They are people who live on $900 a month on Social Security,” Ms. Kuh said. “The main problem for many seniors is living on a fixed income. They either postpone getting dental care or they forego it all together, because of the high cost. Medicare, which pays for most medical attention, doesn’t pay for dental. That leaves seniors in a bind,” Ms. Kuh said.

There are many examples of how helpful the program has been for Island residents. She recalled one patient who suffered from an automobile accident, lost most of his teeth, and suffered chronic mouth infection for five years. A dentist last December extracted the man’s remaining teeth so that the infections could be addressed. Now he is in need of dentures.

One woman who had failing dental work couldn’t afford to have the work redone. The affliction brought other problems and sickness. “We’ve got people with broken teeth, infection; they’ve been wearing ill-fitting dentures for year, without getting the problem taken care of.”

Ms. Kuh said she operates the program within a budget of $10,000 a year. About a quarter of the money comes through the Vineyard Nursing Association, which is supported by the Island’s boards of health. The rest is paid for through grants, and private donations. It is tough.

“I could use 10 times that amount of money,” said Ms. Kuh. “I’d get these people the dentures they need.” Right now, she said the cost of a set of dentures is $2,500. “That is one of the biggest needs people have.”

Any senior who could benefit from this program should seek out their local council on aging, where many referrals are often started. “This is a great collaboration among many agencies including the Access Program, VNA, Island Health, Forsyth Institute and Commonwealth Mobile Oral Health Service,” Ms. Kuh said.

Dr. Khoury also sees young Island children. “We put a lot of attention towards the kids. It is not the kids’ fault. We strive to help these kids,” he said.

Ms. Kuh also oversees Vineyard Smiles, which has stepped in to help as many as 400 children over the course of the year. This program works under the Commonwealth Mobile Oral Health Service. It seeks to help youngsters who fit under Mass Health and other insurance programs.

“In many ways this is about taking baby steps. We recognize there is a big need. This is a start,” Ms. Kuh said.