
Dentaid returns to central London
This week our new lower-emission solar-powered dental unit Clover allowed us to return to central London, for the first time in almost three years, to deliver care to people experiencing homelessness in the capital.
Thanks to funding from the Bupa Foundation, the first-of-its-kind lower-emission dental surgery on wheels provided essential care for people experiencing homelessness, supported by the Single Homeless Project (SHP). BBC London came along to report on the journey so far.
The clinics took place at SHP projects across London, where the Dentaid team alongside volunteer dentists and dental nurses delivered vital care for the most vulnerable people in our communities. Treatments included extractions, fillings, scale and polish, oral cancer screenings, and dental health advice.
It’s a sad fact that many of those experiencing homelessness have problems with their teeth and often live with long-term dental pain. We believe that dental treatment and oral health programmes can play a key role in helping vulnerable people move on to a new chapter in their lives.
We know that there was and is a need to deliver dental care to those experiencing health inequalities in London, but it has proven difficult to get the funding to cover the charges associated with taking a mobile dental unit into the clean air zones. Our new vehicle has been specially built to provide us with a smaller, more eco-friendly way to take our care on the road, and is much cheaper to drive in London, making delivering clinics in the capital feasible again.