Applications now being accepted for free dentistry day at Kelowna’s Orchard Smiles

A Kelowna dental office is stepping up again to help those suffering from tooth pain.

Applications are open until Nov. 8 for the second annual Free Dentistry Day at Orchard Smiles at 150-235 Hollywood Road N. The focus will be on people without insurance coverage who are in financial need, over the age of 16 and have chronic or emergency dental pain.

“The reality is, there’s many people suffering from chronic dental pain and they’re making the extremely difficult decision to prioritize either feeding their family or putting a roof over their heads. They’re holding off on their dental treatment until they can afford it, but every single day they’re still living in pain,” said Dr. Ramsey Jaswal, one of the four dentists at Orchard Smiles.

He says while the new Canadian Dental Care Plan is a step in the right direction, it doesn’t go far enough for many seniors. “We welcome a federal plan because we definitely see the need for patients to have the coverage, but we do feel the federal plan falls so short for our patients. They deserve a lot more.”

Orchard Smiles did over $20,000 in free dental treatment last year during the inaugural event. The hope is that this year they will be able to surpass that.

“Our team here is a team of young professionals and we really believe that whenever and wherever the opportunity presents itself, we want to pay it forward,” adds Dr. Jaswal, giving much of the credit for the success of the program to his staff who volunteer their hours to help those in need.

Free Dentistry Day is Sunday, Nov. 17. Details on how to apply are available here. Once they go through the applications, Orchard Smiles will contact those selected for treatment.