Access Dental Kelowna and local charity East Meets West teamed up to offer children two free dental clinics as a way to promote healthy oral hygiene and help out parents.
“They’re getting all the x-rays done if needed, they’re getting the polishes done, they’re getting the cleaning done, they’re getting the fluoride done,” said dentist Vikas Raj.
The free clinic was offered to children ages six to 12, which Raj says is a perfect time to get young kids in the habit of teeth cleaning, as well as to fix any dental problems caught early on.
“The new teeth, the adult teeth coming up, they need more attention, there are a couple of new teeth, a couple of baby teeth in there and that’s the right age to get the ortho treatment done, the braces done,” said Raj.
Saturday was the last day of free services for children at Access Dental Kelowna and, while it anticipated servicing only 23 patients, it actually saw close to 80.
“This offers the kids the chance, the families the chance to have their kid’s needs taken care of,” said accounts receivable manager, Julie Del Puppo.
“The children are just excited to come in, they’re proud to come to the dentist.”
On Dec. 1, applications for the government’s Canada Dental Benefit opened. It offers families up to $650 a year per eligible child under 12 years old for two years.
However, even with the new program in place, it likely will not be enough to cover all of a family’s dental expenses.
“That will be the help for the maintenance, for the cleaning, for the hygiene, if there are one, two, three cavities coming up, then I know it’s going to be hard on parents who cannot afford dentistry,” said Raj.
Raj hopes to host more free clinics for children in the future, as well as eventually a free clinic for seniors.
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