Charitable work is incredibly important to the team at Pure Smiles and our Fulham dentists are involved in a number of local and international organisations, including:
Charitable work is incredibly important to the team at Pure Smiles and our Fulham dentists are involved in a number of local and international organisations, including:
Restart Refugee Support
Our dentist Ayzaaz is working with Restart Refugee Support, which supports refugee dentists working towards sitting their ORE exam and rebuilding their careers and lives here.
Refugees arrive in the UK with a range of extraordinary assets, formidable drive to restart their lives, and resilience in the face of adversity. Restart Refugee Support believes that being a refugee is not a perpetual state of victimhood or want. It is a difficult period in one's life that is overcome by creating an enabling environment and opportunities for refugees to start again.
Through the use of interest-free loans, advice and signposting, the organisation aims to enable its clients to utilise such capacities in their new communities. It identifies and utilises situations that benefit both refugees and their host countries.
Care4Calais
Can you imagine a pain that keeps you up all night? Now imagine that same pain but there is no access to painkillers, no possibility of a trip to the emergency room. This is the reality for so many refugees who are without access to basic medical or dental care. If you have ever had an abscess, you know this is unthinkable.
A recent study conducted by one of the volunteers at Care4Calais, a PhD research student, showed that over half the refugees we support are experiencing some form of dental pain.
Ayzaaz, his wife Misha, Sammy and our nurse Agnes travelled to Calais in April 2019 to offer support to the refugees stranded in political no mans-land. It was an emotionally and physically taxing experience that left the team humbled by the strength of the residents at the camp. We plan to return in the near future to continue our support.
Bridge2Aid
Bridge2Aid fights the causes of poverty in some of the poorest communities in the developing world. It believes that everybody has the right to safe emergency dental care.
The charity strengthens local healthcare systems, specifically by training local healthcare workers in the provision of emergency dental treatment. Oral disease, infection and chronic pain desperately need to be addressed in these communities to enable people to work, attend school and care for their families.
Its sustainable training model provides local health workers with the essential skills they need to improve the lives of people in these local communities for the long term. Initially it developed its programme in rural Tanzania, and the long term plan is to roll this training out to any country where there is a need.
