New dental chair for vulnerable children

Children living in the slums of Buenos Aires were very excited to see a brand new dental chair (pictured) roll into their clinic in the autumn when the Alpha Omega London Charitable Trust donated a new dental unit to the Todos Juntos Children's Trust, a dental charity dedicated to providing oral hygiene and dental restoration to the most vulnerable of children in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Todos Juntos operates three Sonrisa (meaning smile) clinics providing free dental restoration to underprivileged children. The charity also runs oral health education sessions in surrounding schools, distributes toothbrushes and toothpaste and gives one-to-one hygiene sessions to all its young patients.

Mobile unit visits Blackpool

Late last year homeless and vulnerable people in Blackpool received essential dental treatment on board a mobile dental unit operated by Dentaid. A team of volunteer dentists and dental nurses visited the Horizon service in Blackpool offering free treatment to 47 patients with a range of mental health conditions, those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, the homeless and people who find it hard to access NHS dental services.

Joint fundraising initiative

Leading dental charities Bridge2Aid and Dentaid have launched a joint fundraising campaign to ensure more vulnerable people around the world can access dental care.

The two charities embarked on a 12-month fundraising initiative called 'Together Dental' in the autumn that will help both organisations expand their work and enable more people to access the dental treatment they so desperately need – both in the UK and abroad.

Over the year there will be a programme of joint fundraising events and opportunities for individuals and businesses to donate and make a difference. All the money raised in the Together Dental appeal will be shared equally between Bridge2Aid and Dentaid.

This will enable Bridge2Aid to increase its programmes training rural health workers in East Africa and Dentaid to expand its work supporting dentists around the world while providing emergency care for refugees and people in the UK who find it hard to access dental treatment. Both charities will continue to run their popular volunteering programmes offering UK dental professionals the chance to use their skills overseas.

Fluoride varnish donations

Hundreds of children living in poor and remote communities in Cambodia will have healthier teeth thanks to Optident and volunteers working with Dentaid.

Optident and Ultradent donated 2,000 units of fluoride varnish for Dentaid to use on its projects around the world. The first batch was sent to Cambodia where volunteers visited slum areas near the capital Phnom Penh and community clinics in Kampong Cham. In addition to providing emergency dental treatment, the team also ran oral health education sessions, screening and fluoride varnish programmes. Over two weeks the team treated more than 350 people and they also supported Cambodian dental professionals who are working to improve access to dental care in the country.