BIG Issue vendors in Bournemouth have received free dental care on a mobile dental unit run by Dentaid. The dental surgery on wheels parked outside St Michael’s Church with Dentaid volunteers providing check-ups and dental treatments for seven of the town’s Big Issue sellers.
Around 70
per cent of street homeless and insecurely housed people suffer from dental
problems and many are living with long term pain.
“I was
living in a tent and now I’m in hotel for a few weeks but I have to move on
soon and when you have worries like that you don’t always think about your
teeth,” said Louise, a Big Issue vendor in Bournemouth. “Without an address I
wouldn’t know how to get a dentist anyway. But they’ve just given me a scale
and polish which makes me feel more confident.”
Dentaid,
based in Totton, runs mobile dental clinics at soup kitchens, homeless shelters
and day centres across the UK. Volunteer
dental professionals offer oral cancer screening, fillings, extractions and
oral health advice.
In July,
Dentaid also visited Poole Quay to run a mobile clinic for fisherman as they
came ashore.
After Tuesday’s pilot project, which was funded by The Rotary Club of Romsey Test, Dentaid is now seeking funding so it can provide a regular outreach dental service for Bournemouth’s homeless population. Charities working in the town say that although other medical checks and services are available, many homeless people have no access to dental care.
“Some of our
vendors feel anxious about going to the dentist or feel that they might not
belong there,” said Big Issue team leader Kirsten Thomson. “But with the mobile
unit coming here and parking near our office, we have been able to engage with
our vendors and help them overcome any fears so they can take advantage of this
opportunity.”
Andy Evans,
Dentaid CEO added: “We know that many homeless and vulnerable people need dental
care and it’s upsetting to see how many are living in dental pain. It’s been great to work with the Big Issue
and we will now be looking for long term funding so we can set up regular
dental clinics in Bournemouth as we have done in other parts of the UK.”
