Dentaid launches new County Durham hub
Dentaid The Dental Charity is expanding its services in the North East as part of its 30th anniversary celebrations, with the launch of a new hub based in County Durham.
The initiative, featuring a dedicated mobile dental unit and staff, will offer treatments and oral health advice to vulnerable people across County Durham, Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and North Yorkshire who face barriers to accessing regular dental care.
The hub officially launched at the start of June with clinics at York and at the South Tyneside Adult Recovery Service (STARS) in South Shields. Service users who are in recovery from alcohol or drug addiction were treated by volunteer dentists and dental nurses on board Dentaid’s mobile dental unit.
The unit, one of 12 operated by Dentaid, features a surgery on the back containing equipment for volunteer dental professionals to offer extractions, fillings and other treatments which can help to alleviate toothache. The units visit venues such as homeless shelters and hostels, women’s refuges and community centres where vulnerable people can speak with support workers and access a range of services to help support their health and wellbeing.
Dentaid first launched in 1996 to support efforts to improve access to dentistry in remote and poorer areas of the world. Since 2015, it has also supported people in need across the UK who struggle to access traditional dental services and may go years or even decades between dental visits.
STARS, which is delivered in partnership by Waythrough and Spectrum CIC, works with a range of health, mental health, adult, children and young people’s social care, criminal justice agencies, voluntary and community sector services to develop each of their service users’ individual road to recovery.
CEO of Dentaid The Dental Charity, Andy Evans, said: “Turning 30 is an important occasion for Dentaid and we wanted to mark the occasion by making sure our work goes further than ever before to support those most in need of dental care.
“The need for dental services in the North East has never been higher and we know that many people living in this area are facing major challenges in being able to access support and guidance.
“Having a specialised hub with two dedicated members of staff and a mobile dental unit will allow us to visit more areas across the region and deliver care directly in the places that matter.”
Amy Young, Health Inequalities Team Manager at STARS, said:
“It’s been great to see the positive impact the mobile dental unit has had on the people we work with. We have had comments so far that the work they have had done on the unit this week has been life-changing to them and improved their confidence.
“Some residents across our borough experience health inequality which need to be addressed, and working alongside Dentaid is supporting with this work.
“We are proud to partner with Dentaid to be able to offer this to those who need it most to help improve their quality of life, because they’re worth it.”
Dentists who would like to volunteer to take part in one of our upcoming charity clinics across the North East can find out more information by visiting https://www.dentaid.org/volunteering-opportunities-in-the-uk/