A Healthy Smile

On any given night Berkeley has between 1,000-2,000 people sleeping on the streets. These individuals contend with a myriad of medical and psychiatric issues, but one problem that is often overlooked is oral health. A Healthy Smile at the Suitcase Clinic Dental Section provides free comprehensive restorative dental care in the form of dentures, stay-plates, and crowns on a weekly basis. Through the existing collaboration with the Berkeley Free Clinic and five volunteer dentists, the goal is to provide this much-needed restorative care to four clients per week. A Healthy Smile hopes to establish a mutually beneficial and sustainable collaboration in order to purchase dental materials at a reduced cost. The aim is to secure funding to ultimately provide 30 dentures, 30 partial dentures, 30 stay-plates, 29 implants crowns, and 100 crowns per year with the hope of improving the lives and social mobility of those in need.