To help celebrate and bring awareness to oral health month, a local dental clinic will be offering free dental service for one day only.
On April 15, the entire staff of Steveston Harmony Dental Studio will be giving their time and services free of charge.
Theyre all volunteering that day so were all coming in and were going to see as many people as we can in the day, said Maureen Piche, owner and dentist at Steveston Harmony Dental.
My hygienist is going to do as many cleanings as she can do for as many people who want to come in.
The day is meant for adults in the low-income bracket and Piche hopes it will be able to help those in the most need.
Weve reached out to people that have come to the office because theyre in pain but havent been able to afford treatment, said Piche.
A few of the people were our internal patients that we know we needed to take care of and we are giving them the opportunity to come back and see us.
Piche has been in Steveston since 2004 and instructed at the Vancouver College of Dental Hygiene before opening her own studio.
She and her staff have been planning on doing something like this for a while and now that they are, people are taking notice.
The only requirement they have for those interested in the free dental care is that they book appointments in advance, and space is filling up fast.
Our first person called an hour after we let people know, so its pretty quick, she laughed.
We didnt know what the response would be like but we knew from working in the community that the need is there so I knew if we got the word to the right people that it would get a lot of attention.
Piche would like to make this an annual event at her dental studio, but for now she knows she shouldnt get ahead of herself.
Im pretty sure we are going to do it annually, but well see how it goes, take it one step at a time, she said.
If you are interested in booking an appointment, you can call the studio at 604-277-2223.
