Youth dental program marks 25 years of helping inner-city children
For the past 25 years, thousands of inner-city children have received the dental they needed, thanks to a partnership between the University of Manitoba’s College of Dentistry and the Winnipeg School Division.
The outreach program currently provides free dental care to young people from 18 schools, easing a financial burden for many local families.
It also aims to provide a “less scary” experience for young patients.
“It’s really rewarding when you have a kid and you’re able to do some work on them and at the end of the day they say, ‘I love going to the dentist,’” said Navi Mann, a student at the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry.
The program first launched with Shaughnessy Park School in 1998 and provides a full range of comprehensive dental services such as fillings, cleanings and crowns.
“This is very much a win-win proposition,” said Dr. James Ksionzyk, an assistant professor at the college. “The dental students have an opportunity to learn how to treat children when they finally graduate and are in private practice, and the patients they’re seeing are often patients that face barriers to care otherwise, and may not be able to access treatment if not for this program.”
During the school year, around 40 children are bussed to the dental school’s clinic for care every Friday.
In 2022-23, dental students screened more than 250 children in kindergarten to Grade 6.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
What Michael Cohen said on the stand in Trump hush money case
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
A child killer legally changed his name in B.C. The province is trying to stop that from happening again
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Next 48 hours will be 'extremely challenging' for B.C. wildfire crews near Fort Nelson: officials
A wildfire burning dangerously close to Fort Nelson, B.C., has grown to more than 50 square kilometres, and officials are warning that the blaze's behaviour is expected to become more volatile over the next 48 hours.