In the UK, Dentaid provides free dental care for homeless and vulnerable people. Our mobile dental units visit hostels, day centres and night shelters providing emergency treatment for people who find it difficult to access dental care. We also provide dental care in areas where people are struggling to find a dentist and run clinics for refugees and asylum seekers, head and neck cancer patients, veterans, children in areas of social deprivation and victims of domestic violence. Dentaid’s BrightBites oral health education programme is run in schools across the UK.
It is a sad fact that many people in the UK don’t receive dental care. Many homeless and vulnerable people aren’t registered with a dentist and live with long-term pain and infections. Sadly, 70 per cent of homeless people have dental problems and 15 per cent have tried to extract their own teeth.
Some people who work long, unpredictable hours, feel that taking time off work to visit a dentist is impractical and unaffordable, while in some parts of the country there are long waiting lists to register for NHS dental care. Furthermore, 40 per cent of British children don’t receive regular dental check-ups or oral health education.
Dentaid has a range of projects to tackle these problems.
Mobile dental care for homeless people
Our mobile dental units visit homeless shelters, soup kitchens and community buildings across the country with volunteers providing free dental screening, advice and treatment for people who aren’t registered for NHS dental care.
By taking a dental service to a location where our patients already feel safe and comfortable, we can start to break down barriers and help them access essential dental treatment.
Dentaid also provides outreach dental services for ex-service personnel and veterans, victims of domestic violence, people whose lives are affected by drug and alcohol addiction, and school children in areas of high
social deprivation.
Dentaid’s four mobile dental units travel the country with volunteers offering free dental treatment for the most vulnerable people in our society.
We take our dental surgeries on wheels to shelters, hostels and day centres for people who are experiencing homelessness or are temporarily housed who often find it difficult to access dental care.
Dentaid volunteers work with support workers and our charity partners to build a rapport with our patients. Once they come aboard the mobile dental unit, they are offered dental screening, toothbrushing and dietary advice and a range of dental treatments.
Wherever there is a need for free, safe, sustainable dental care we do our best to help – and demand for our services is growing all the time.
Local Office is at Dentaid, 116 Commercial Road, Totton, Hants SO40 3AD