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VIDEO: Mobile dental hygiene van rolls out

For some people, a visit to a dental hygienist is a luxury they simply can't afford. Thanks to the compassion of a group called "Hands in Service", many of those people will get that visit anyway.

A re-purposed Class "A" RV was put on display today. It has been equipped to roll-out dental hygiene services in the neighbourhoods where it's needed most.

So how did it all come about? "Prayer, hard work, community support," gushed a grinning Patricia Goertzen from Hands in Service. "We feel really grateful. We were able to access a community gaming grant, a capital grant, and we had already been saving for a number of years out of our own budget and then the Okanagan foundation stepped-in with a $15,000 grant and the Royal Canadian Legion brought us a $40,000 donation."

The champion of the project, Patricia Goertzen spoke to us about the program and how it's going to work.

<who>Photo credit: KelownaNow </who>

Starting in September, the mobile service will operate two days each week at different locations around the city, usually church parking lots. It comes with a wheelchair lift to make it fully accessible. The dental-office-on-wheels will be staffed by a pair of dental hygienists who have agreed to work at a reduced rate to make it possible.

Eventually, the service might also bring a dentist aboard. "There is a possibility because we do have space within the vehicle to add a third person," said Goertzen. "We'd love to have dentists that would come on and join us, once a month so we could provide that additional service, but at this point, we're going to start with the hygiene." Patients who clearly need to see a dentist will be referred to the service offered to Kelowna's Gospel Mission.

It's the only not-for-profit mobile dental hygiene clinic in all of BC. The first day out will be sometime in September.



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