Luke Wezeman attended junior high school across the street from his father’s dental practice, but the idea that he’d some day follow in his dad’s footsteps was the furthest thing from his mind.

Now, the father-and-son team work together and share the same passion for giving back to their Oak Harbor community, particularly during one special day of the year.

The Wezemans’ practice, Whidbey Avenue Dental Care, is offering free dental care to the public on Friday, Feb. 13, as part of the business’ 10th annual Dentist with a Heart Day.

From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Luke Wezeman, his father Tim Wezeman and a staff of about 15 are donating their services to the community free of charge.

The team will perform tooth extractions, provide fillings and offer emergency treatments to anyone who shows up and is willing to wait.

The dentistry is located at 926 E. Whidbey Avenue in Oak Harbor.

“Anyone is welcome,” said Cara Wezeman, Luke’s wife.

“We do have kids who come, but the majority are adults.”

Tim Wezeman, who founded the practice in 1979, started the tradition to help those in need in 2005.

When his son joined the practice, and eventually bought it from him in 2009, they decided to continue to hold a day to help community members who needed care but  couldn’t afford it.

Tim Wezeman said he got the idea from a class he took and the staff embraced the concept.

“It was kind of an inspirational class where they were trying to give doctors ideas how to return things to their community,” he said. “We decided to do ‘Dentist with a Heart Day.’ The staff was all over it and of course you can’t do it unless they volunteer their time.

“It’s a way to give back to your community and there’s a lot of people out there who really are in need and you’d hope that with some of those people some of their needs are taken care of. That’s kind of the concept. And Luke took it and ran with it.”

Through nine years, the dentistry has provided free care to 561 patients during Dentist with a Heart Day, averaging about 62 a year.

Along the way, there was discussion on whether to discontinue the service. However, the benefit to the community proved too invaluable.

“We talked about it and decided, you know what, we have a gift to give,” Luke Wezeman said. “We really feel a great pleasure in being able to share that gift with people.”

Beyond that, the hope is that it will inspire others to help those in need, Cara Wezeman said.

“One of the reasons we continue on, my husband and I both are really passionate about the need for each person to assess their resources and the skills available to them in relation to the needs of the community they live in,” she said. “It’s not just for us to do that. It’s a much bigger picture. In terms of the bigger community, there’s a call for all of us.”

The dentistry’s longtime staff is equally dedicated, Cara Wezeman said. Most have participated in all nine of the previous events.

The day of free care also includes teeth cleaning but that is the only service that required appointments and all 18 of those slots have been filled.

“It really wouldn’t happen without everybody,” Luke Wezeman said.

There was a time when Luke Wezeman couldn’t have imagined it would happen for him at all, especially while growing up in Oak Harbor

“My dad never really talked a whole lot about dentistry and probably because I wasn’t really interested in it,” he said.

Luke Wezeman was in his fifth year as a Coupeville Middle School science teacher when he decided to make a bold career move and shift to dentistry.

To do so, he, his wife and their two young children moved from a house in Coupeville to an apartment in Manhattan so he could attend dentistry school at New York University.

“I think the biggest thing is I gave up the security,” Luke Wezeman said. “When you were teaching, there was an income and all that. We gave that up. We sold a bunch of stuff. We sold cars. We sold a house we just had built. Everything. We put a little bit of stuff in storage. That was hard as the provider. It was like, you know I’m giving all this stuff away and gambling on my ability to go to school and be successful.”

“That was really hard.”

And the transition from Coupeville to Manhattan?

“All I knew about going to New York was what I’d seen on NYPD Blue,” he said.

Wezeman, 41, and his family ultimately returned home to Oak Harbor. He, his wife and his dad are all Oak Harbor High School graduates.

Tim Wezeman’s dad, Leonard, was a pastor at First Reformed Church in Oak Harbor.

“I’m happy he found a home and a career that he enjoys and likes to do,” Tim Wezeman said. “It’s not work if you love what you do and become good at what you do. It’s an avocation. It’s something fun to do. I’m happy that he decided to come here. It’s fun together.”

Luke Wezeman owns the practice now. His dad works there part-time.

“I work for him now. He’s my boss,” Tim Wezeman said with a smile. “I guess he can fire me if he wanted to.

“I’m happy to come in whenever he needs me. It works out well.”

Father and son and the entire staff will be needed Friday, along with other volunteers.

“They both grew up here and have a really strong tie to this community,” Cara Wezeman said. “Both of them care a lot about this place and a lot about the people. For both of them, the people who walk through the door are truly our neighbors. That’s the kind of community we live in. I love that about our community.

“I would say Dr. Tim and Dr. Luke both feel very strongly about a sense of community and a place of home.”