The Saskatchewan dental community rallied together to host the first ever free dental day on the University of Saskatchewan campus.
Dental Day YXE provided much needed access to oral care for hundreds of people in need on Saturday.
“This is so important. Dentistry is really expensive and when people lack funding to access the service it really makes it difficult for them to get proper dental care. They then tend to only seek out care when they’re in pain,” organizer Danielle Briere explained.
READ MORE: Dental hygienists offer free services for those in need
Briere said the clinic has completely filled up with 200 people receiving treatment, including Aimee McCubbing who came from Rosetown with her family.
“We don’t have a regular dentist and for low income families and people that need help with their teeth it’s a great opportunity,” McCubbing said.
The day was made possible by $20,000 worth of donated supplies, not to mention a hundred dental professional volunteers.
“We don’t need to travel to other countries to do outreach work, we have so much need just in our own city. We can reach out to the people that need it,” volunteer dentist Lauretta Gray said.
“It’s really eye opening to see how many people don’t have access to oral healthcare who have huge needs. There’s just not a lot of programming available to address those needs,” College of Dentistry student Jessie Zoorkan said.
“The impact that it’s having on these people’s lives is immeasurable.”
READ MORE: Free ‘Dental Day YXE’ reaches capacity before first-ever event at U of S
Dental Day YXE was a first for the university, but it certainly won’t be the last.
Zoorkan along with other organizers hope to continue the event and help those in need for many years to come.
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