‘I Never Believed I Could Look That Way Again’
Area dentist and staff help survivors of domestic abuse recover their smiles.
Originally published by Midcoast Villager
April 3, 2026
Daniel Dunkel
Dentist David Pier donates his time and expertise to help survivors of domestic violence.
Photo by Daniel Dunkle
By the time she sat down in David Pier's dental chair, she had spent 20 years in a relationship so controlling that her partner would not even allow her to brush her teeth.
Going to dentist after all of those years was scary. But thanks to that time in Pier's chair at Mount Pleasant Dental Care in Rockport — free of charge — she had her smile back.
"He was absolutely amazing. The work that he did was truly like art," said the local woman, who, like other domestic abuse survivors who spoke to the Midcoast Villager for this story, asked not to be named. "He fixed all my teeth. They were really, really bad from years of neglect due to abuse.
"I feel like I've been given an amazing second opportunity. It's given me my confidence back," she said.
Pier's pro bono dental work for domestic abuse survivors is in partnership with Finding Our Voices, a nonprofit that has connected 40 dental providers with those in need across the state since 2022. So far he has worked with 22 survivors.
Another survivor said that she was sick every day with anxiety for more than six years in an abusive relationship, to the point that it actually eroded the enamel of her teeth.
"I was trying to hide my smile," she recalled.
Dr. Pier and his staff gave her four new top front teeth, which means that every look in the mirror is no longer a reminder of that fear and pain. "Dr. Pier and his staff were wonderful. Everyone was so kind and supportive."
For his part, Pier believes that people fortunate enough to be in a position to help like him have a responsibility to do so. And this program provides him with a way to live up to that code.
“I feel like I’ve been given an amazing second opportunity.
It’s given me my confidence back.”
He said there are two common problems caused by domestic violence for the women he helps. In some cases, they have suffered from forced neglect, where a controlling partner will not allow her to see anyone or make appointments for things like dental work, causing deterioration of their teeth. In other cases, they suffer direct trauma from being struck, sometimes with blunt objects.
Pier, who is mostly retired at this point, giving him time for this work, said his office has spent over $70,000 to provide free work to those in need.
The work involves all forms of dentistry, sometimes helping with gum disease or restoring existing teeth or replacing teeth with partial or full dentures. The work includes root canals. In many cases, patients need sedation due to the fear and difficulty with someone entering their personal space.
“I’ve never had patients who were more appreciative,” he said. “I saw a woman last week, and I restored her smile, and she looked in the mirror and just burst out in tears. She said she never believed she could look that way again.”
He noted that domestic violence is no respecter of socioeconomic backgrounds. People from all walks of life experience it. He said that sadly, it is not seeing the enforcement it should with perpetrators receiving slaps on the wrist.
He considers the work a source of joy.
“I've had so many blessings in my life,” he said. “I have wonderful parents. I never had to worry about where I was going to sleep at night and what I was going to eat. I had the support to go to college. The support to go to dental school. And the thing I would say is to those to whom much has been given, just as much should be given back.”
However, he said he cannot take all the credit as the new owners in the practice he started, Mount Pleasant Dental Care in Rockport, have supported the work and staff has worked with him. He said he is proud of the fact that the staff there treat everyone who comes in with the same level of respect, whether they are receiving help through a program or they are millionaires.
Pier has practiced dentistry in the Midcoast since 1984, first working with Glen Cove Dental Associates and later opening Mount Pleasant in 2004, which has grown into one of the top providers in the state. He has traveled around the country training dentists on the “people skills” side of the business, helping them put patients who have anxieties around dental work at ease.
Originally from New Jersey, he married his college sweetheart, Karen, and they have raised three boys and now have five granddaughters. His son, Eric, has followed in his footsteps, serving as a dentist in the same office. The family attends the Rockland Congregational Church.
Finding Our Voices CEO and founder Patrisha McLean said 40 dental providers are involved in the program, including general dentists, hygienists, oral surgeons, endodontists, prosthodontists and orthodontists, plus a number of dental labs from across the Northeast donating their services. There are at least eight dental offices in Knox and Waldo counties participating. And more are needed to meet the need. So far the program has provided more than $375,000 in donated dental care to 61 women.
"Other Knox and Waldo county dental providers on Team Smiles are Dr. L'Italien of Camden Hills Dental; Dr. Doug Lalliberte of Granite Coast Orthodontics; Dr. Eric Pier, Dr. Rebecca Laliberte and Dr. Stacey Stevens of Mt. Pleasant Dental Wellness; Dr. Sanju Basi in Rockland; Dr. Kristine Landry of Lincolnville Family Dentistry and Dr. John Lewis of Penobscot Bay Dentistry. Also Lauren Rice of Seaside Dental Hygiene Studio," McLean reported.
“We seem to be the only program in the country that provides donated dental care exclusively to survivors of domestic abuse, as well as the only program in the U.S. that fixes dental damage caused by emotional abuse such as not ‘being allowed to brush your teeth,’ as well as physical abuse,” she said.
She said the nonprofit is branching out to provide other needed services as well.
“We have a budding program of lawyers donating their services mostly for consultations around child custody and visitation and divorce issues; and beauty and wellness professionals boosting the confidence of survivors including, locally, Melanie Herring donating healing facials, and Amy Judkins and Courtney Davis donating haircuts and color.”
These are just part of the work of Finding Our Voices, which will celebrate its fifth year as a nonprofit in September. The organization helps women in a variety of ways and brings attention to the problem of domestic violence in our community, a tragic issue that thrives in secrecy.
"We are committed to remaining a Maine organization as there is a lot to do in this state, supporting survivors of domestic abuse, preventing domestic abuse (including through our work in high schools), and shifting priorities for more consideration in Maine for the victims of domestic violence over the perpetrators, all to finally move the needle on the shameful and scary statistic of domestic violence causing half of all homicides in Maine, year after year for decades!" McLean said.
