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
Robert Pickton stabbed with toothbrush and broken broom handle: victim's family
The family of one of Robert Pickton's victims says the convicted serial killer suffered an incredibly violent death at the hands of another inmate.
Panama prepares to evacuate first island in face of rising sea level
On a tiny island off Panama's Caribbean coast, about 300 families are packing their belongings in preparation for a dramatic change. Generations of Gunas who have grown up on Gardi Sugdub in a life dedicated to the sea and tourism will trade that next week for the mainland’s solid ground.
This Calgary home has a giant tree in the middle, and it's for sale
There's a luxury 'tree home' for sale in Calgary.
Father who killed one-year-old son with axe may be allowed to travel in southwestern Ontario
A Mennonite father who killed his one-year-old son with an axe may be allowed to travel to parts of southern Ontario in the coming months
Chad Daybell sentenced to death for killing wife and girlfriend’s two children in jury decision
Jurors resumed deliberations Saturday on whether a man should be sentenced to death after being convicted days earlier of the murders of his wife and his girlfriend’s two youngest children in Idaho.
Pedestrian dies after being hit by train in Brockville, Ont.
Brockville Police says a pedestrian has died following a collision with a train that was heading to Toronto.
'It feels like freedom': Why some Albertans like going nude in nature
Few people can say they accidentally purchased a nude beach — but Shelley can. When she saw a piece of land she could fondly remember camping on was up for sale, she inquired about it and ended up purchasing it. She soon found that there were already inhabitants on it.
Beef on and off the ice: Who has the best steak between Alberta and Texas?
As the Edmonton Oilers battle the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Playoffs' Western Conference Finals, there's some beef brewing off the ice as well.
Trump election victory 'very unlikely,' but 'possible': former FBI director Comey
Former FBI director James Comey says while he believes former U.S. president Donald Trump "will be defeated" in the upcoming presidential election, he doesn’t think it’s a given.