Walking into Sparkling Smiles dental office, one is greeted by the comforting yet unusual scent of cinnamon and the friendly face of dental hygienist Teri Perkins, who runs the clinic.
Since the second week of January, local dental office Sparkling Smiles has offered free dental cleanings to those who otherwise can’t afford dental care, inspired by a national initiative led by Gift From the Heart, a charity focused on providing oral care.
“I figure if we’re going to have chairs without clients in them, that we may as well be giving back to the community and having people in for free cleaning so that we can at least help a few people,” said Perkins.
What started out as a way for Sparkling Smiles to give back to the community and stay busy in an otherwise slow time of the year has highlighted the on-going issue of affordable dental care, giving the clinic an opportunity to continue to help out year-round.
Nearly one out of every three Canadians do not have dental insurance and one in four Canadians avoid the dentist because of the cost, according to Statistics Canada. This fact manifested for Perkins when she advertised her free cleanings via Facebook and received an enormous response from the public.
“I’m the one that checks all the messages. It’s just me,” said Perkins, “People are still emailing and calling every day wanting to get put on the list.”
Her free cleanings were only supposed to last a week, but after seeing the response she has extended the service indefinitely.
“We’re still offering the free cleanings. I’m hoping to be able to do them all throughout the year. Now that I see that there’s such a need for it,” she said.
For Perkins, giving back is nothing new. She grew up helping her mom, who ran the Fredericton Food Bank for over 25 years.
“When I was in elementary school, I used to help pack food boxes at the food bank and hand them out the window to people who didn’t have money to feed their families,” she said.
So when Perkins heard about Gift From the Heart after starting her business back in 2019, she jumped on the opportunity to help the community. This is how she met Bev Woods, CEO of the charity and registered dental hygienist.
“I just can’t let people suffer, I’m just not that type of individual. So for me, it’s about giving back,” said Woods.
Woods started Gift From the Heart around Valentine’s Day in 2008 after identifying a need for dental care in her hometown of Trenton, Ontario. Gift From the Heart hosts the National Day of Giving, which sends dental offices across the country dental supplies if they offer free care. The first 200 offices to register for the Day of Giving receive a box of supplies.
“It’s important because your mouth is the window to the rest of your body. So your overall health first starts in your mouth,” said Woods. “And for people who have no dental coverage or affordably can’t access traditional dental services … that affects their whole body health.”
What once was a one-woman operation has since grown into a charity organization and now the National Day of Giving has turned into the National Week of Giving, which happens every year in the last week of June.
Along with the National Day of Giving event, Gift From The Heart now has two converted ambulance vehicles that act as dental preventative care centres on wheels, as well as a mobile trailer and brick and mortar dental clinics as well.
Whether you’re a student on a budget or a person of low income without health insurance, dental care can still be accessible because of people like Perkins and Woods.
“It shouldn’t be a luxury for people to stay healthy and the simplest way of doing it is just to be able to keep their mouth clean and free of dental disease.”
