Pittsburg ? Volunteer dentists, hygienists and others provided an estimated $900,000 worth of dental care for free at the three-day Kansas Mission of Mercy clinic.

Dr. Ron Strader, of Girard, said 2,200 people were treated Friday through Sunday at the clinic at Pittsburg State University. Strader said that as far as the organizers could determine, it was “the largest short-term missionary project — anywhere, any time.”

“We were joking last night about calling the Guinness Book of World Records,” said Robert Poole, community relations director for Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center.

Strader said operations ran smoothly despite the crowds.

“We designed a patient-flow system after our Kansas City mission,” he said. “We’ve tried to keep patients in the same order that they came in the door, and each person got a card with a number on it. That way, they knew if they were going to be the 14th person to get a filling.”

Christopher Stroud, of Farlington, got two days of treatment worth an estimated $1,000.

“I lost a front tooth in an accident with a golf club when I was 16,” he said. “They reinvented the tooth for me. This has been a great work on a massive scale.”

Dr. Michael Shepard, of Galena, also found other things Stroud needed, including a root canal and a crown.

“I’ve had long, hard days here, but it’s been very rewarding because we’ve been able to do something without having to worry about the money end of it,” Shepard said. “We get to do what we can do to the best of our abilities without any other concerns.”

Dr. L. Foster Hawkins came from Marshalltown, Iowa, to volunteer his service; he was one of four Iowans to take part.

“We don’t have these dental missions in Iowa, and it would be wonderful if we could start something there,” he said.