Dentaid The Dental Charity is a British dental

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

. The organisation is based in

Totton Totton is a town in the civil parish of Totton and Eling, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. In 2021 it had a population of 28,094. History The name "Totton" means 'Tot(r)ingtun' farm of 'Tot(t)a', "Totton was "Totinctone" in 98 ...

, and has been active since the mid-1990s. Dentaid The Dental Charity provides dental care and oral health advice for people experiencing homelessness, abuse, poverty and harm. They use mobile dental units to travel the UK providing outreach dental clinics for people experiencing homelessness, survivors of abuse, families experiencing poverty, vulnerable women, refugees, cancer patients, fishing communities and other vulnerable people in our communities.

History

Dentaid was founded on the 3rd of November, 1996 when an English dentist refurbished a chair in his garage. Originally, Dentaid focused on refurbishing donated dental equipment and sending it to charitable dental clinics around the world. In 2009, engineers at Dentaid created the DentaidBox, a portable surgery that can be operated without access to electricity or running water. As the charity gained more funding, they started overseas oral health education project, dental engineer training and volunteering trips. These overseas trips continue to this day. Dentaids First UK Project took place in

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

in December 2015 partnered with The Real Junk Food Project. They provided free clinics for people who were struggling to access dental care. After the success of this project, Dentaid purchased a mobile dental unit to visit more patients in the Uk. Currently, Dentaid operates nine mobile dental units and one trailer. They travel the country visiting soup kitchens, hostels and community centres with volunteer dental professionals providing dental treatment and oral health advice.

UK Clinics

In the Uk, Dentaid utilises their nine mobile dental units to improve the oral health of vulnerable people. They offer dental screening,

oral cancer Oral cancer, also known as oral cavity cancer, tongue cancer or mouth cancer, is a cancer of the lining of the lips, mouth, or upper throat. In the mouth, it most commonly starts as a painless red or white patch, that thickens, gets ulcerated ...

checks, pain relieving and emergency treatments, preventative and

restorative dentistry Restorative dentistry is the study, diagnosis and integrated management of diseases of the teeth and their supporting structures and the rehabilitation of the dentition to functional and aesthetic requirements of the individual. Restorative denti ...

and oral health advice. Their goal is to breakdown barriers their patients face in accessing dental treatment relieving pain and increasing confidence in their oral health. Dentaid designs care pathways that specifically suit the people they work with. Using their fleet of mobile dental units they visit locations where patients feel safe. This includes soup kitchens, night shelters, hostels, community centres and projects that support the vulnerable people.

Overseas clinics

Dentaid runs overseas projects aimed at delivering dental care to poor and remote communities in

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and

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. Dentaid supports overseas dental partners by supplying equipment, funding outreach projects, and offering UK volunteer dental professionals opportunities to work alongside local teams. This enables clinicians to deliver care in areas where people have no other access to treatment, running dental clinics and oral health programmes in communities worldwide. Dentaid's projects operate in schools, prisons, orphanages, refugee camps, rural clinics, and regions facing poverty. The charity provides refurbished and portable dental equipment, which is supplied to dental professionals overseas. Volunteering teams work alongside these professionals, sharing expertise and helping partners expand dental services into new areas. Dentaid also supports programmes that are training a new generation of dental professionals.

References

{{authority control Charities based in Hampshire Dental organisations based in the United Kingdom Health in Hampshire New Forest District