Yellowknife’s Adam Dental Clinic is offering free dental care to those who need it most on Sunday.
The clinic, located at 5209 Franklin Avenue, wants to give back to the community through its Smiles from the Heart initiative between 7:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Dr. Hassan Adam and his staff will take patients on a walk-in basis between those hours but won’t be accepting payment.
Office manager Alicia Price says the initiative is geared towards people who don’t have dental coverage.
“Specifically people who don’t have dental coverage or dental benefits in any way, shape or form or people who just can’t afford basic dental treatment,” she said.
“Dental treatment is expensive. There’s a lot of struggling families out there that live paycheque to paycheque.
“There’s a lot of single parents out there who have to put groceries before dental treatment so we’re just trying to help people who need it.”
Price says the goal of Smiles from the Heart is to get people dentally fit.
She says dentists and hygienists will be on hand to provide basic hygiene treatment, fillings and extractions as opposed to more major procedures like crowns or veneers.
All patients will be subject to an examination before receiving treatment on a first-come, first-served basis between 7:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
“A lot of people don’t want to ask for help,” said Price. “A lot of people think that they’re not in need enough. This will hopefully reach those people.”
Price says it will be all hands on deck Sunday, with 42 people volunteering their time for the initiative. She says she’d like to see all 11 dental chairs filled throughout the day.
Providing complimentary care to those who need it most isn’t something entirely new for the clinic, however. Price says Dr. Adam occasionally provides free treatment to those who can’t afford it.
Smiles from the Heart was inspired by similar initiatives in Canada and the United States.
