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Smile on Wheels Mobile Dental Van, a CSR initiative of GSK APL in partnership with Smile Foundation, will operate four mobile dental vans – 2 in Delhi, 1 each in Gurgaon and Noida.
New Delhi: In light of addressing daily health barriers and addressing oral health disparities in the country, four mobile dental vans were flagged off today by Dr Ram Prakash Roy, District Epidemiologist (IDPS) Civil Surgeon Office, Gurugram, Chakkarpur, Gurgaon Health Department. Serving underprivileged communities.
GlaxoSmithKline Asia PvtManufacturers of Sensodyne have launched the vans under the corporate social responsibility initiative “Smile on Wheels Mobile Dental Van” in partnership with Smile Foundation.
Four vans were flagged off in the presence of senior leaders of GlaxoSmithKline Asia Private Limited and leaders of Smile Foundation.
Oral health is an indicator of overall well-being and there is a growing need for interventions to reduce the burden of oral diseases in the country. About 85-90% of adults and 60-80% of children in India have dental cavities.
Recognizing these disparities, the initiative calls for action to improve oral health in India by providing free dental care consultations to underprivileged communities and increasing access to and utilization of dental care at the grassroots level.
Smile Foundation, an NGO working to enable change through health and education initiatives, will operate four mobile dental vans in Delhi NCR to create awareness about oral health and hygiene and subsequently increase access. Out of the four, two will operate in Delhi and one each in Gurgaon and Noida.
Speaking about the partnership with Smile Foundation, Shanu Saxena, Head CSR said, “There is a synergistic relationship between oral health and overall well-being. Taking action to help communities stay healthy is reinforcing our commitment that everyday health should be within everyone’s reach. For this reason, we want to positively impact the people living in the communities in which we operate Through this partnership, we have the opportunity to work together to initiate change and overcome the barriers facing oral health care delivery in underserved areas.”
Each medical mobile van is equipped with GPS facility, providing free dental consultation, oral cancer screening to underprivileged people in and around Delhi NCR. Each van has a dentist, technician, program coordinator and aims to reach 72,000 beneficiaries in the first year. The NGO aims to link up with government and charitable hospitals for referral services.
Recognizing schools as an effective platform for strengthening oral health promotion and disease prevention interventions, the NGO will conduct a school dental health program once a week where children will be given dental check-ups.
Commenting on the collaboration, Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder and Executive Trustee of Smile Foundation said, “This project is a start towards addressing dental healthcare in India. We have partnered with GlaxoSmithKline Asia Pvt Ltd to launch our first mobile dental van and look forward to bridging the gaps in dental healthcare delivery and providing quality services at the grassroots level to ensure oral healthcare for all.”
As a self-sustaining system for providing dental care, the project aims to increase the utilization of dental care by the disadvantaged and disadvantaged communities of Delhi NCR at the grassroots level.
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