The Gift From The Heart event is a way for registered dental hygienists (RDH) to give back to the community.  On February 12th, a group of 10 dental hygienists accompanied by 16 students and staff from Ontario Dental Education Institute's Dental Hygiene Program in Ancaster, did just that!

Throughout the full day event self-initiating RDH's provided free dental hygiene care and cleanings to those individuals in the community who cannot afford regular dental hygiene treatment.  From 8:00 am to 6:30 pm the ODEI clinic and waiting room were full of eager and grateful clients who came for the free dental hygiene clinic.  The services provided ranged from cleanings, polishing, scaling, and fluoride treatments to oral cancer screenings.

In all, over 200 clients came to ODEI for the event, a large increase from the 30 individuals who took advantage of the services last year.  Of the 200 clients 95 were seen. The increase is attributed to a province-wide marketing initiative by the founders of the Gift From The Heart event, along with an obvious need for affordable oral care services. Larissa Voytek, Program Director of ODEI's Dental Hygiene program was thrilled with the outcome stating, "almost $20,000 worth of dental hygiene services were provided for free today.  What amazing teamwork and great clients". 

This is the second time ODEI participated in The Gift From The Heart and the school won't be stopping anytime soon.  Next year they plan on once again filling the clinic with people in need of affordable oral care services.

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