Newly renovated dental clinic provides low cost dental services to children
Winnipeg Regional Health Authority
Published Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Children needing low/no cost dental services now have a more welcoming place to receive the care they need. Recent renovations to the S.M.I.L.E.plus dental clinic at Machray School will ensure clients and their families have a space that better reflects the quality of care they receive.
The renovations cost approximately $180,000 and include bright new colours, better flow, more privacy, new x-ray machines and TVs. "I think it’s really important that we have a nice space for our kids, because a lot of our families that come here are lower income families, and they deserve to have a nice place to visit when receiving dental care," says Robin Thompson, senior dental assistant for the SMILEplus dental program.
S.M.I.L.E. stands for: Saving Mouths in Income Limited Environments. The "plus" refers to screening, education & intervention programs. "The SMILEplus program is vital to ensuring children in lower income brackets can receive the dental care they need," says Linda Pharand, senior dental hygienist for the SMILEplus dental program. "Our dedicated team works so hard to make children and families comfortable in the dental office, as well as offering information and education on how to practice good oral hygiene and prevent problems in the future."
Pam Godfrey, whose daughters have been receiving dental care from the SMILEplus clinic for years says, "The service they provide is extremely important because it's affordable when you have no other financial means to pay for dental care. They worked with my younger daughter to help fix her teeth and help her smile and we are so grateful for that."
The SMILEplus team works to provide as much dental care as possible in one visit to make it easier on children and families that face barriers for coming to multiple appointments. They provide dental services that range from regular check-ups and cleanings, to more intensive work like extractions, restorations and some orthodontics. Through community outreach, the SMILEplus team is also able to refer children to the clinic to ensure their dental care needs continue to be met.
As one of the dentists who provides pediatric dental care to clients at the clinic, Dr. Tara Kennedy says, "It's so rewarding to be able to help these children access necessary dental care. We're always in need of more dentists to help provide these services and I look forward to seeing more of my colleagues join this vital program."
The SMILEplus program has been around for more than 30 years. The clinic currently sees approximately 3-4 thousand children each year. It is the only publicly funded dental clinic in the Winnipeg region offering low/no cost dental services exclusively to children.
"I love that I can help people access care and help remove some barriers. We help people overcome their fears as well," says Thompson. "Our clinic is about so much more than dental care. We develop relationships with our clients and their families and we look forward to seeing them learn and grow. We also help them access other resources in the community such as food supports and transportation."
SMILEplus is run in partnership with the Winnipeg Region Health, and the University of Manitoba Faculty of Dentistry and includes a team of dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants which work with senior dentistry and dental hygiene students to deliver a number of services, including:
- oral health needs assessments
- school and community based oral health promotion
- dental pit and fissure sealant treatment
- topical fluoride treatment
- assertive follow-up for children in need of treatment
- school-based clinical treatment
A flat fee of $30.00 per appointment visit is charged to eligible families that do not have any insurance coverage. The fee covers regular dental care, including exams, cleanings, preventive sealants, restorations and extractions. Services are also provided for school-aged children that have limited dental coverage through First Nations & Inuit Health, EIA, or Refugee status, and more recently, the Canadian Dental Care Plan.
Watch here to see what SMILEplus is all about
For more information, please contact WRHA communications: [email protected]