Dentaid has launched an urgent appeal to repair two of its mobile dental units and buy a new vehicle in the face of high demand.
Last week, two of the charity’s vehicles – that are both 20 years old – broke down.
Dentaid states it is doing all it can to keep clinics running – and has launched a fundraising appeal to cover the cost of urgent repairs and fund a new future unit.
‘Our mobile dental units work extremely hard for us and have been used for nearly 250 clinics this year helping the most vulnerable people in our society to access life-changing dental treatment,’ said Dentaid CEO, Andy Evans.
‘But as with all vehicles, things go wrong and repairs are extremely costly. Last week was very challenging with our two oldest vehicles failing and needing recovery. We need to get them back on the road as soon as possible because the need for our work is greater than ever.
‘However, we can’t escape the fact that these are ageing vehicles and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to source parts for them. Eventually, they will need to be replaced so that we can reach the people who need us most.’
Next year, Dentaid will have its first new purpose built mobile dental unit joining its fleet.
This is thanks to a series of fundraising events, including the Kilimanjaro climb by FMC founder Ken Finlayson and the Straumann Charity Bike Ride.
Its schedule of clinics is already full and Dentaid will need more vehicles to meet rising demand.
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Uniquely positioned
‘We know how much people are suffering due to untreated toothache, particularly in underserved and hard to reach communities,’ added Andy.
‘Thanks to our volunteers, Dentaid is uniquely positioned to help by taking outreach dental care to them. But we need vehicles to achieve this.
‘We are fundraising to help us get our two existing lorries back out where they are desperately needed, but also looking to the future so we can build our fleet of purpose-built vehicles because we know that accessing dental care can improve our patients’ confidence and life chances.’
Dentaid has set up a fundraising page where supporters can donate www.justgiving.com/campaign/DentaidNewMDU?invite=true
To find out more about Dentaid visit www.dentaid.org
