In Newport, a new charity clinic is providing much-needed dental care and oral health guidance to people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.
On July 29th, the dental charity Dentaid’s mobile dental team arrived in the city for the first time, working in partnership with Gwent Drug and Alcohol Service (GDAS) and with support from Kaleidoscope, Barod, and G4S.
Volunteer dentists and dental nurses worked on the mobile dental van to provide services to GDAS clients, including fillings, extractions, scaling and polishing, oral cancer screenings, and health consultations. The charity plans to hold four more outreach clinics in August and September.
Dentaid, with 11 mobile dental vans, provides free treatment to vulnerable groups across the UK, including the homeless, low-income families, survivors of abuse, refugees and asylum seekers, cancer patients, and fishing communities. Many of the recipients had not seen a dentist in years and suffered from untreated toothache.
Jill Harding, Head of Fundraising and Communications at Dentaid, emphasized: “Drug and alcohol abuse take a significant toll on oral health and can also make it difficult for people to access treatment.
For people recovering from dental pain, dental pain can present additional challenges, and receiving treatment can significantly improve their quality of life. We’re delighted to be bringing our service to Newport for the first time and look forward to returning soon.”
Gareth Leonard, Head of Operations at GDAS, said they chose to partner with Dentaid because their clients struggle to access local dental appointments, many of whom suffer from severe dental problems due to long-term use of drugs like heroin.
“Dentaid’s clinic is based in our main Newport centre, where clients come every day, and now they can receive dental care in a familiar location.”
We prescribe opioid substitution therapy (OST) to around 220 people every day, making this an ideal location for Dentaid’s introduction. The response has been extremely positive, with many completing their treatment already.”
Dentists and dental nurses interested in volunteering in Newport or at other clinics in South Wales and the West of England can view the full list of vacancies on the Dentaid website.