Dental Students Providing Care to People in Need in Oxford County

Wednesday, 8 February 2023 10:47

Oxford County Community Dental Clinic has provided care to more than 60 people since April 2022. Western University dental students have also been getting hands-on experience.

OXFORD COUNTY - The Oxford County Community Health Centre has joined forces with Western University's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry to provide dental care to people in need.

Fourth-year dental students have been getting some hands-on experience at the Oxford County Community Dental Clinic. Zachary Hollingham, the Director of Clinic and Client Services, says the students work in pairs, performing four-handed dentistry.

"We have two operatories, so two dental chairs that are running, and four students working at a time. The pairs of students are overseen by a supervisory dentist who is a clinical professor appointed by the Schulich School of Dentistry."

Hollingham says the supervisory dentists are local to Oxford County and it gives them the opportunity to give back to the community while training the dentists of tomorrow.

The pilot program began last spring and it became part of the school's curriculum this past fall. More than 60 people have been able to receive care through this program since April 2022 and it does not offer pediatric dental care at this time.

Hollingham says the clinic is for those who don't qualify for other publicly funded dental care programs.

"What we have tried to do is be the net underneath everything else. So anyone who has slipped through the cracks and is not eligible for one of these other programs or has exhausted their benefits through one of these other programs can come to us to get the care that they need."

He says some of the other publicly funded programs include Southwestern Public Health's dental program for low-income seniors, the health unit's Healthy Smiles pediatric dental program, and the federal program for kids under the age of 12.

The clinic accepts self-referrals and referrals from health care providers. Those looking for more information can call the Oxford Community Health Centre at 519-539-1111 and speak to one of the receptionists.

Hollingham would like to thank all of the partners involved in this clinic including the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, United Way Oxford, Southwestern Public Health, Oxford County Human Services, and POW Laboratories.