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
'The root cause': Canada outlines national action plan to fight auto theft
The federal government is launching what it calls its 'national action plan' to combat auto thefts, which will include stronger penalties for thieves, and increased information sharing between police agencies, government officials and border enforcement.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
The world's best airline is paying staff a bonus of 8 months' salary
Singapore Airlines will reward its employees with a bonus worth nearly eight months of salary, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday.
U.S. Supreme Court rejects appeal from former Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by a Canadian-born former Guantanamo detainee who was seeking to wipe away his war crimes convictions, including for killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.
Michael Cohen says he stole from Trump's company as defence presses key hush money trial witness
Michael Cohen testified Monday that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from his ex-boss Donald Trump’s company, an admission defence lawyers hope to use to undermine Cohen’s credibility.
Red Lobster probes "endless shrimp" losses after bankruptcy filing
U.S.-based restaurant chain Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Florida court after securing $100 million in financing commitments from its existing lenders, the company said on Sunday.
'Next man up': Canucks coach, teammates bracing for Game 7 without Brock Boeser
Questions about how the team is going to handle the absence of star winger Brock Boeser from a do-or-die game seven dominated pre-game interviews with the Vancouver Canucks coach and players Monday morning.
Woman, 35, in critical condition after her truck collided with a Via Rail train near Montreal
A 35-year-old woman is in critical condition after the pick-up truck she was driving was struck by a Via Rail passenger train Monday morning in Quebec's Monteregie region.
Hwy. 144 crash kills northern Ontario motorcycle driver
A 33-year-old from Espanola was killed Sunday following a collision between a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle on Highway 144.