An initiative offering 12,000 free dental appointments to people in south-west England has reached a third of its target so far, bosses have said.
Since February, students at the Peninsula Dental School have seen 4,000 people unable to get an NHS check-up or afford to go private, at a new centre in Plymouth.
Those in the industry have urged the government do more to improve access to NHS dentistry after the region was identified as having the worst coverage in the country.
The Department of Health and Social Care said it had made changes to expand dental school places, offer more dental treatment, and prioritise those patients most in need.
Prof Ewan McColl, head of the school which is part of the University of Plymouth, said the new clinic was already making a big difference.
He said: "These will be 4,000 appointments for patients who are turning up in pain. They then might see a therapy student who will go over prevention and oral health care so you can break the cycle of coming back again for urgent care.
"Often if people have not seen a dentist for a long time they can present with pretty severe infections. There's a lot of evidence now that oral health care is important to general health."
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Charlotte Daniels, a final year dental therapy and hygiene student, said as well as being beneficial for gaining real-life experience, she had seen the gratitude of patients whilst working at the practice.
"We just don't have enough dentists to cover the population of Devon and Cornwall because the NHS isn't available and the contracts are getting smaller and smaller for even private dentists.
"So having this place gives you a real sense of pride that you are helping people and the return that you get from that is just overwhelming.
"It's been super great to see patients who are extremely grateful to be seen here by us."
Councillor Leigh Frost, the Liberal Democrats leader of Cornwall Council, said the current provision of NHS dentists was "absolutely shocking."
He said: "These services exist to help people in their time of need and if they're not getting that access, we need to solve those problems.
"More regular check-ups for people then means they aren't actually going to get that seriously ill which then puts a pressure on our acute care and our crisis care."
The British Dental Association has called for the government to go further, external with changes to the existing contract which leaves dentists not sufficiently remunerated for the cost of treating NHS patients.
Dr Jenna Murgatroyd, chair of the local dental committee for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said: "The government is trying to make small changes. Those tweaks are just making an already difficult contract even harder to understand. That in itself is driving dentists away."
"It's just too complicated. We do need a fundamental change to the NHS contract," she added.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We are rebuilding NHS dentistry by prioritising patients with the greatest needs, improving access across the country, and delivering a better deal for dentists."
Free Dental Scheme Reaches Third of Target