McGill dental faculty teams up with Welcome Hall to provide dental care for low-income patients
McGill University's Faculty of Dental Medicine is partnering with the Welcome Hall Mission to help provide free dental care to those who need it the most.
Dental care is low on the priority list for many facing financial difficulties.
"There are homeless poor. There are very low-income poor. And then there's the middle class, which struggles with paying for dental care," said Sam Watts, executive director of the Welcome Hall Mission.
Dentists, students, and professors from McGill's dental medicine faculty will provide dental care to those most in need.
"This is the first permanent outreach clinic in Montreal and Quebec, even, I believe," said volunteer dentist Dr. Paul Sweet. "So when the opportunity came along to be involved in this project, I jumped at the opportunity."
The clinic has existed for over a decade, but it is always a very small-scale operation. Because needs have exploded recently, the Welcome Hall Mission has decided to turn it into a full-time operation.
Each doctor will be paired with four dental medical students, providing services five days a week.
"That got us to the point that we're at today where instead of three chairs or three operators, we now have six," said Watts. "We have more modern equipment, everything is updated, and the range of services will be relatively wide."
Oral health is the goal, said Sweet.
"We try to limit the scope to essential treatments, nothing elective," he said. "So we're focused on preventative care, cleaning sealants, that sort of thing. Education. A lot of times there's a little bit of an education gap or just a lack of knowledge about dental care."
The Welcome Hall Mission said its long-term plan includes providing similar services, such as psychologists, again with the help of universities wanting to give back to their community.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton dead following prison attack
Convicted B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, who preyed on women he lured from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to his rural pig farm, has died.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
DND moving 1,000 employees out of Ottawa office building due to safety concerns
The Department of National Defence is moving approximately 1,000 employees out of an office building in Ottawa's Lowertown neighbourhood, citing safety concerns for its employees.
Baby dead after being delivered via emergency C-section to woman who was in police custody
A newborn is dead after being delivered via emergency C-section to a woman in police custody.
Biden speaks after Donald Trump's conviction in hush money case
A day after a New York jury delivered a historic guilty verdict in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee held a press conference Friday where he spoke publicly about the conviction and his White House bid.
More counterfeit drugs seized, hot water boiler causes fire: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada recalled various items this week, including more unauthorized products, counterfeit drugs and bassinets.
Jennifer Lopez cancels summer tour: 'I am completely heartsick and devastated'
Jennifer Lopez has cancelled her 2024 North American tour, representatives for Live Nation confirmed to The Associated Press.
How did Ontario's bankrupt 'Crypto King' travel the world on Scene+ points?
Newly released documents suggest Ontario’s so-called ‘Crypto King’ paid for months of world travels with $13,000 worth of Scene+ points while bankrupt – but how?
Mediterranean diet helps women live much longer, a large new study finds
Women who closely followed a Mediterranean diet lived much longer than those who did not, according to a new study that followed more than 25,000 women for 25 years.