Smiling bright for Dental Day YXE

U of S offers free dental care More than 200 people received free dental care from the University of Saskatchewan on Saturday. Mark Villani reports.

More than 200 people received free dental care at the University of Saskatchewan Saturday for the inaugural Dental Day YXE.

The U of S College of Dentistry hosted the event which saw more than 150 professional dental volunteers help out.

Assistant professor of dental public health at the UofS, Dr. Alyssa Hayes, said the main objective was to provide free dental treatments to people with financial constraints.

“For those who don't have dental insurance or report having a problem accessing dental care, this is a huge impact for them,” Hayes said. “It takes one more thing off their plate and hopefully gets them feeling a little bit better about their oral health."

Deogracias Castillo can agree with that. He’s a father of three and said the dental bills can add up. Castillo was shocked however when he found out that it wouldn’t cost him a thing to get his son, Denver in for a cleaning.

“How much do we pay? Is this cheaper? Or is this actually free?,” he laughed. “It’s a good opportunity for us.”

The event was especially impactful for the more than 150 dental professionals who donated their time. Melissa Janswick has been a dental assistant for the past 10 years and said this has been one of her most rewarding experiences.

“It’s heartwarming, absolutely heartwarming,” she said. “Just to give back to the community in some sort of way, it’s a big deal, I mean dentistry captures the whole health of a person, so I think it’s important.”

Organizers of this year’s event hope to continue Dental Day YXE next year and make it a part of the College of Dentistry’s outreach program.