We have donated our ‘Smiles Mobile’ to Dentaid to help the charity provide oral health advice and dental treatment to even more vulnerable people in the UK.
Our mobile unit was previously used to visit schools and community groups to provide oral health education. It has now had nearly £10,000 worth of equipment and mechanical upgrades that mean it can now be used as a fully functional, mobile surgery by Dentaid.
It was presented to Dentaid Chief Executive Officer, Andy Evans, and Communications Director, Jill Harding, by Nyree Whitley, Group Clinical Director, and Andrew Powell, Head of Facilities & Construction, at {my}dentist’s support centre in Greater Manchester.
The mobile unit will now support Dentaid in expanding its reach across the UK, providing free dental treatment to even more vulnerable people. Previous projects include visiting shelters, hostels and other centres for people experiencing homelessness who find it difficult to access dental care.
The units are staffed by volunteer dentists and dental nurses who provide dental screening, oral health advice and dental treatment.
Nyree Whitley, {my}dentist Group Clinical Director, said: “Dentaid provides vital support to people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to access dentistry. It helps vulnerable people live life free of dental pain and we’re really pleased to have been able to support their work.
“It is fantastic that our Smiles Mobile now has such a bright future helping the charity to reach even more people in need across the UK.”
“We are incredibly grateful to {my}dentist for donating this unit to us,” said Dentaid CEO Andy Evans. “Since the pandemic, demand for our charitable services has skyrocketed and we’re helping more people than ever before. However, every week we receive several calls from organisations supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities who desperately need to find dental care for their clients. Now we have this new mobile dental unit we’ll be able to launch more clinics and visit new venues providing emergency dental care and oral health education for people who have no other access to treatment.”Dentaid has volunteering opportunities across the UK for dentists, dental nurses and assistants. The charity’s clinics take place from Exeter to Cromer and Weymouth to York and patients include head and neck cancer patients, fishermen, ex-service personnel, refugees and asylum seekers, people recovering from drug and alcohol misuse and schoolchildren in areas of high social deprivation. Dental volunteers can either spend a day on the unit or sign up regularly to provide dental care for those who are most in need in their communities.
“We are always delighted to hear from new volunteers,” added Andy. “We make sure it’s a very rewarding and positive experience and our patients are always so grateful.
“Not only can we help them out of dental pain we can also help to restore their confidence. Dental care really can help to transform their lives.”
{my}dentist supports a range of charitable projects in the UK and beyond. It also supports Dementia UK to raise funds and create awareness of the link between dementia and oral health difficulties as well as Bridge2Aid to help create access to dentistry for remote communities around the world.