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On Monday morning, Dr. Amy Dassoulas left the dentist's chair to greet her 11 a.m. patients — six five- and six-year-olds, two of whom were near tears at the prospect of having their teeth checked.

"It's OK," Dassoulas said. "We don't have anything that hurts. Nothing."

Wisdom Jeter, 5, slowly raised his hand after Dassoulas asked which student would like to go first.

By the time Wisdom was in the chair, the other five students were at ease, giggling at the oversized protective glasses the dentist asked him to wear.

This scene did not play out at a dentist's office, but instead in the library at Hollywood Elementary School in College Park. It was one of two annual visits from the Mobile Dentists program, which brings dental care directly to students in nearly 100 Prince George's County elementary and middle schools.

"It's great for me," said Rosa Perez of College Park, a parent who accompanied her daughters, Ariana, 5, and Melody, 4, to the dentist. "They can be checked here ... I don't have to make an appointment."

Mobile Dentists, a Michigan-based nonprofit, serves school districts in 14 states and first came to the county last spring. It offers dental care for children whose parents are either unable to afford or too busy to arrange regular dental care.

For $80 or less, depending on financial need, parents can enroll their children in the program, which visits each spring and fall.

The importance of children's dental care has drawn greater attention in recent years, particularly in Prince George's County, since Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old student at the Foundation School in Largo, died in 2007 after bacteria from an abscessed tooth spread to his brain.

"I think that made us all very aware that dental issues can be life-threatening," said Sue Righter, nurse at Hollywood Elementary. "What's nice about this is that it really emphasizes prevention so we don't get to that point."

Righter said participation at Hollywood has doubled from about 25 students in the fall to 53 for this visit.

"I'm excited," said Michelle Ibarra, 9, of College Park, while waiting alongside fellow fourth-grader Kelly Silver, 10, of College Park. "We like the same part where they spray water in your mouth."

The two visiting dentists, Dassoulas of Towson and Dr. Igor Shteynshleyger of Bethesda, treated students inside the library from 9 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. About 15 feet away from them was the "waiting room," a row of chairs where students could sit.

It wasn't the typical dentist's office, where the dentist works behind closed doors, out of view of waiting patients.

"It's a very unintimidating setup," Righter said. "They can come in and watch their classmates."

After taking X-rays and a teeth cleaning, the dentists sent each student home with a sticker, toothbrush and full dental report for their parents.

For the students, it was as pain-free as a trip to the dentist can get. The only painful part might have been waiting for their next meal.

"It was good," Kelly said. "[But] they tell us we can't eat for like 30 minutes."