All Dennis Kelly wants to do is make people smile.

For almost 20 years he’s traveled the world doing just that.

From South America to Africa and parts of Asia, Kelly is a man without borders. He’s a man with a mission, a dentist who’s focused on proper brushing and reminders to floss.

Kelly, 78, was recently named the Washington State Dental Association 2005 Citizen of the Year.

The Clinton resident admits to being both flattered and astounded upon hearing of his honor.

“I figured I’d been around for a while, so I wondered why me,” he said.

But what many South End residents who pass this slight gentleman might not know is that Kelly has spent two decades traveling the world providing free dental work to people in impoverished countries and to children in need stateside. For Kelly, working hard is a part of his life. His work isn’t done.

Kelly grew up in Spokane. He is the second child of six to Raymond and Helen (King) Kelly. In their house, the kids were taught honesty, duty, and to take care of themselves and others.

Kelly began working at the local grocery in the eighth grade. By the time he was 17, he’d joined the Merchant Marines. Two years later he returned and enrolled at Gonzanga University. He picked his major, pre-dentistry, on a whim.

“My mother and I were looking through the list and she asked ‘Why not be a dentist, it’s a good profession,'” Kelly said.

Kelly met his wife, Lorraine, on a blind date during his freshman year of college in 1947. They married in 1952.

He attended the University of Washington School of Dentistry, where he graduated in the top 10 percent. Despite the outstanding grades, Kelly said that he had to work hard in school as not everything came so easily.

“I definitely had to work at developing my manual skills,” Kelly said.

His senior year, Kelly enlisted in the Air Force’s senior program. For his promise to serve the Air Force after graduation, Kelly received second lieutenant wages and his tuition was subsidized while he finished school.

“I did it because I figured we could live high on the hog since Lorraine was also teaching at the time,” Kelly said.

During his two years in the Air Force, he and Lorraine lived much of the time abroad in England. There they were given the opportunity to travel all around Europe. It gave them the taste for adventure.

After his time in the service, Kelly returned to Spokane, where he began a private practice

in 1957.

During his private practice years, Dr. Kelly frequently offered free dental care to orphaned and troubled children.

“I was taught that if you had the ability to do

something, that you should do something to take care of your fellow man,” he explained.

Kelly retired from his practice after 28 years in 1984.

“It was a heck of a lot of work, but I always enjoyed it,” he said.

Shortly after retirement, the Kellys — who have four children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild — decided they’d like to travel the world and help people.

The Kellys sent out letters to different organizations to let it be known their dental services were available. They received little response.

Then a friend told them about an Arizona Indian reservation in need.

“They responded right away to our letter and asked when we could come,” Lorraine Kelly said.

To embark on their endeavor, they decided to sell their house in Spokane. That came as a surprise to their children, who never suspected their parents would follow through on a whim.

“They didn’t think we were serious about heading out until the house was sold and we were soon selling and giving away everything,” Kelly said.

They connected early with Rotary International, which often supports international dental and medical volunteers. While not all of their dental care trips have been coordinated through Rotary, the organization has many times offered Kelly assistance in his volunteer ventures.

The trips are often four to 10 weeks long. Lorraine often accompanied him to be an assistant at the clinics or to help out at local schools.

The Kellys were often visiting areas impoverished and off the beaten track.

“They didn’t have money and many lived many miles up in the mountains or far from any kind of medical care,” Lorraine Kelly said.

Sometimes the dentist would be working in dental clinics in varying stages of equipment. Other times he and staff set up mobile clinics in various locations.

“Sometimes there’s not even a chair and I have a patient basically laying across my lap,” Kelly said.

One time he was lucky enough to work in a fully equipped, state-of-the-art clinic that was in the back of a large van.

“That was great, that was ideal, even,” Kelly said.

The first trip for the Kellys was to the Tohono-O’dan Indian Reservation (formerly known as the Papago Indian Reservation) in Sells, Ariz. Next was Acomita-Canocita-Laguana Indian Reservation in Acomita, N.M.

Since then, the Kelly’s travels have taken them to countries such as Bolivia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Kenya, Jamaica and Thailand.

“We’ve been able to see places we couldn’t have dreamed we get to,” Kelly said.

Kelly even got to go to a place he had read about and dreamt of as a young boy.

“Lake Titicaca,” he said with a smile. “And Machu Picchu, I’d been wanting to go to those places since I read about them in the third grade.”

When Kelly went to Cardona, Honduras, he was the first dentist to visit. At the Kilimambogo Dental Clinic in Kenya, Kelly found patients with severe dental decay who had been in pain for months.

“Decay is pretty typical and sometimes severe in many of these areas we visit. Otherwise it’s a lot of routine dentistry,” Kelly said. “Some days it feels like I’m putting a little Band-aid on this big, ugly bloody wound of the world.”

When Kelly travels to the different areas, there are often assistants at the clinics who give dental hygiene education to the locals.

“They’d be out there with blackboards and flipcards teaching the people waiting in line,” Kelly said. “We have to teach them the basics so we don’t end up seeing big problems in the long run.”

While in Antigua, Guatemala, they served at a dental clinic that was a part of a medical home and hospital that encompassed a giant city block.

“It was amazing with all its different departments. We became acquainted with a lot of people who worked there,” Lorraine Kelly said.

The Kellys knew so much of the staff that when it was the Americans’ time to leave, dozens upon dozens of people from the clinic were at their going-away party. Lorraine Kelly still gets teary talking about it.

“All their faces, there were so many of them,” she said.

It was in Honduras that the Kellys decided to immerse themselves in Spanish, the language of many of the countries they visit.

“We always go to a place not as tourists, but instead wanting to be right there with the people, learning their culture and seeing how they live,” Kelly said. “To us this has been all about experiences.”

Kelly is scheduled to head to Guatemala in May. Lorraine will stay home.

“When it’s a 32-hour flight to Africa and a 20-hour flight to Thailand, I’m getting too old for that,” Lorraine Kelly said.

“It’s been a wonderful adventure but I’m sticking closer to home these days,” she said.

Upon retirement, the Kellys decided they would spend the first 10 years of retirement doing volunteer work. They’ve long surpassed that.

“I’m probably going to be doing this as long as I can,” Kelly said. “I think I’ve always gotten more out of it than I give.”