Supporting migrant workers in Singapore

Henry Schein Dental UK supports HealthServe's dental clinic in Singapore by providing oral health treatment to migrant workers including prophylaxis, fillings, extractions, and surgical procedures.

HealthServe is a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing healing and hope to disadvantaged migrant workers in Singapore through a holistic approach inclusive of access to medical clinics, casework, social assistance as well as advocacy, research and outreach programmes. HealthServe was founded in 2006 on Christian values and since then has helped over 5,000 migrant workers.

Treating children in Argentinian slums

More children living in the slums of Buenos Aires will be provided with free dental care after international dental charity Dentaid made a grant to Todos Juntos Children's Trust, a charity dedicated to improving oral health in the Argentinian capital.

Last year Todos Juntos provided 35,000 dental treatments for children living in desperately poor communities in Buenos Aires. The charity was established in 2005 after its founder, Fiona Watson, realised the extent of tooth decay among Argentinian children and the effect that a lack of access to dental services was having on their lives. Todos Juntos now operates three Sonrisa (meaning smile) clinics in Buenos Aries which provide free dental treatment for underprivileged children. The charity also runs oral health education sessions in surrounding schools (pictured), distributes toothbrushes and toothpaste and gives one-to-one hygiene sessions for all its young patients. Services are provided by Argentinian dentists funded by Todos Juntos.

Fundraising for East Africa

Bridge2Aid is gearing up for its national fundraising day – Smile in Pink. This is a day during National Smile Month when people in the UK dental community come together to wear pink and fairy wings proudly for a very good cause – to ensure millions in East Africa have access to safe emergency dental treatment.

This year, the event will take place on 2 June and Bridge2Aid is rounding up businesses, organisations, dental practices and supporters to join forces with thousands of others who believe that everyone has the right to be pain-free.

To register for Smile in Pink Day 2017 and receive your participant kit, smileinpink@bridge2aid.org.

Mission to Myanmar

Henry Schein Dental UK supported Burmadent charity's recent mission to Myanmar (formerly Burma) by donating urgently needed healthcare products. During this mission, which has also been supported by dental materials provider VOCO, seven volunteers, four of whom were dentists, took care of more than 620 patients in nine days in remote rural areas of Myanmar. In addition, aftercare education was given.

Myanmar has poor dental services. There is no access to dentistry and oral neglect is rife. Many of the people are unable to afford or access dental treatment. Following a chance encounter while on holiday in Myanmar in 2012, Sharon Bierer and Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen organised a trip to Inle Lake in November 2012 to provide dental care to orphans at the Mein Thauk orphanage. Accompanied by two Burmese dentists and Lesley Naismith from Henry Schein Dental UK, they treated more than 1,200 patients around Lake Inle. As a result of this successful trip, Burmadent was founded and registered as a charity in the UK in 2013.