Town Hall Foundation, the charitable arm of leading West Yorkshire dental practice Town Hall Dental, has received almost £10,000 worth of National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund support.
Town Hall Foundation focuses on teaching dental hygiene, particularly to adults with disabilities, and providing essential dental care for those in need.
The £9,946 grant will be going towards the charity’s pop-up oral health and oral cancer screening campaign, which launches this Summer, and will initially cover the Calderdale and Kirklees areas.
“We aim to promote good oral hygiene in the sectors of the population where it can have the most good,” said Town Hall Chief Operating Officer and Director Rachel Dilley.
“This grant is specifically going towards our pop up service, which is aimed directly at the most vulnerable and marginalised communities, people we know are isolated or unable for many different reasons to access mainstream dentistry.
“We reach out to the homeless and the vulnerably housed but also to communities that have less access mainstream dental services.
“With this in mind, one important service we offer is a female clinician who provides an environment that is safe and easy to reach to women in the community.
“There are limitations, of course, to what this programme can offer but an outdoor, on the road based screening programme is the best possible start to improving oral hygiene and oral health within our communities.”
The pop-up sessions will be manned entirely by volunteer dentists and nurses from Town Hall Dental, all of whom will be giving around two days per month to the project.
“The National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund grant is making this scheme possible, but the enthusiasm and dedication of our staff in giving their time for free has been absolutely essential,” said Rachel.
“We now look forward to hosting our first sessions and also to seeing the project grow.”
