Before the sun rose Saturday, organizers of the Mission of Mercy free dental clinic in Roanoke turned away about 400 people for the second and final day of the event.

The decision was made at 4:30 a.m., well before the doors were supposed to open at 6 a.m.

"We just didn't want people standing out in the cold to find out that we weren't going to be able to serve them," said Pat Young, the clinic's project manager.

Many of those seeking dental treatment Saturday did not follow organizers' requests to wait until 4 a.m. to line up.

Instead traffic began to back up on Williamson Road forcing police to open the parking lot to the Roanoke Civic Center by 12:30 a.m., Young said.

The same situation occurred Friday, when the clinic had to turn away about 600 people in need of dental care.

Young said they plan to rethink the process for accommodating the huge demand before next year's clinic.

About 360 people were able to get a spot in today's clinic, while about 700 people were served Friday.

That means that just as many people were turned away as made it inside the clinic.

-- Sarah Bruyn Jones