April is Oral Health Month and local dental hygienists are getting their picks and polishers ready for the ninth annual Gift from the Heart event happening April 8.
The Northern British Columbia Dental Hygiene Society will be partnering with CNC in a volunteer effort to give back to their community by providing a day of free dental hygiene.
The goal is to offer care to patients from the CNC dental hygiene program who have not been able to access care due to the suspension of the program two years ago.
The program is being reintroduced to the college this September.
"For us, it's about giving back to our patients who supported us because they haven't had services during the hiatus so we are offering them free dental hygiene," said CNC faculty member Leslie Battersby.
"We are so excited because a number of our volunteers are looking forward to helping out because they were past students and they see the value of the program."
Dental hygienists all across Canada will be on hand to share their skills for the Gift for a Heart event that is geared for those who have difficulty accessing dental hygiene treatments.
To date, registered dental hygienists have provided more than $500,000 in dental hygiene care during the Gift from the Heart event.
"It's so exciting. We are contacting our patient pool and we have about 60 patients booked already to arrive at our clinic at CNC," Battersby said.
"This is a win-win situation for the volunteers who can promote social awareness and for the patients who will have their oral needs met."
Battersby along with her fellow dental hygienists are ready to spread the word.
"It's so important to promote oral health in any way we can. This is beneficial because many people don't realize that oral health impacts overall health," Battersby said.
For more information about Gift from the Heart, go online to: www.giftfromtheheart.ca
