New South Tyneside dental hub aims to bridge health inequality gap

A new dental hub is to start operating in South Tyneside – filling a need for good gum hygiene among people with addiction and other health and social issues.

Dentaid The Dental Charity will offer treatments and oral health advice to those in recovery from alcohol or drug misuse or suffering homelessness, harm, poverty or abuse.

It will be staffed by volunteer dentists and dental nurses on board its fully equipped mobile dental unit.

The first sessions are planned at South Tyneside Adult Recovery Service (STARS), based at Cookson House, off River Drive, South Shields, from 10am to 2pm on Tuesday, June 2, to Thursday, June 4.

STARS works with health, mental health, adult, children and young people’s social care, criminal justice agencies, voluntary and community sector services to support individuals’ road to recovery.

The Dentaid unit features a surgery containing equipment for dental professionals to offer extractions, fillings and other treatments to alleviate toothache.

It is one of 12 such vehicles operated by Dentaid which visit venues such as homeless shelters and hostels, women’s refuges and community centres.

At these venues, vulnerable people can speak with support workers and access a range of services to help support their health and wellbeing.

Dentaid is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, having launched in 1996 to support efforts to improve access to dentistry in remote and poorer areas of the world.

Andy Evans, its chief executive said: “Turning 30 is an important occasion for Dentaid and we wanted to mark the occasion by making sure our work goes further than ever before to support those most in need of dental care.

“The need for dental services in the north-east has never been higher and we know that many people living in this area are facing major challenges in being able to access support and guidance.

“Having a specialised hub with two dedicated members of staff and a mobile dental unit will allow us to visit more areas across the region and deliver care directly in the places that matter.”

Amy Young, Health Inequalities Team Manager at STARS, added: “Some residents across our borough experience health inequality which need to be addressed, and working alongside Dentaid is supporting this work.

“We are proud to partner with Dentaid to be able to offer this to those who need it most to help improve their quality of life, because they’re worth it.”

Since 2015, Dentaid has also supported people in need across the UK who struggle to access traditional dental services and may go years or even decades between dental visits.

The charity has provided a service in South Tyneside before but not from a dedicated north-east based unit.

Its new hub will also help vulnerable people who face barriers to accessing regular dental care across in other parts of Tyne and Wear, as well as County Durham and North Yorkshire.

Dentists who would like to volunteer to take part in one of Dentaid’s upcoming charity clinics can find out more at www.dentaid.org