When the group realized it had a surplus of $3,400 from all the different fundraising activities, the graduating students decided to donate the money to the School of Dental Hygiene’s patient support funds.

“I think the reason we felt so compelled to donate was because of our excellent experience in the program. I think our instructors and supervisors really instilled in us the importance of giving back and being able to advocate for our patients,” said Lexy Müller Morán, president of the Dental Hygiene Class of 2025.

Dental Hygiene Class of 2025

The donation will go towards two patient support fund initiatives, which help those who don’t have access to public or private dental insurance and aren’t able to pay out of pocket.

Smiles for Miles helps newcomers and refugees. And DH4U enables dental hygiene students to advocate for their patients and make the case to help cover the cost of their care.

Müller Morán recalled a time when one of her classmates had a patient who feared seeing the dentist, and because of it, their oral hygiene suffered.  

“My classmate’s patient was so dedicated to wanting to improve their oral hygiene she felt the need to advocate for this patient. Ultimately, the patient was able to come to the clinic and afford the treatment because of the DH4U fund,” Müller Morán said.

Mary Bertone, director of the School of Dental Hygiene at the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry, is proud of the Class of 2025.

“It means a lot that this class made a donation. It shows a sense of social responsibility and a commitment to paying it forward, so future students can advocate for patients who need care,” Bertone said.

Müller Morán said that her class thought it would be great to give back, even though they only graduated in May.

“We felt it would be good to start early,” Müller Morán said. “We thought, if we can make an impact now, then why don’t we do that. I think it’s just going to encourage all of us to give back in the future.”

If you would like to donate to the School of Dental Hygiene patient funds, please get in touch with Brooke Karlaftis, UM donor relations officer, at Brooke.Karlaftis@umanitoba.ca.

“I’ve always believed in service and giving back,” says the high-energy director of the School of Dental Hygiene at the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry.

Bertone, who has led the school since 2014, was recently appointed to an additional leadership role. She is the first dental hygienist to serve as director of the dental college’s Centre for Community Oral Health (CCOH). She has had front-line involvement with the non-profit centre since she graduated as a hygienist 13 years ago and started working for the CCOH in health promotion.

You might think that with all her responsibilities, Bertone would step back from caring for patients. But she feels it’s essential to stay involved. “It keeps me real,” she says.

She is particularly committed to hands-on care at the CCOH clinic in the far-northern community of Churchill, Man. She has been flying to the “polar bear capital of the world” since 2005.

“I used to go once or twice a year,” she says. “Now I try to go three or four times a year. I am the hygienist for Churchill, and then I bring other hygienists up there with me.” The CCOH, formally established in 2000, operates six community clinics, including the one in Churchill. Each provides both clinical and health-promotion services. “We go where no one else goes, to increase access to care,” Bertone says.

The Access Downtown Dental Clinic on Winnipeg’s Main Street provides care to inner-city residents and sees many patients who are newcomers to Canada. The clinic at Deer Lodge Centre, a long-term care and rehabilitation facility in western Winnipeg, serves residents of the facility and people from the community. The CCOH clinics at the Manitoba Developmental Centre in Portage la Prairie, Man., the Selkirk Mental Health Centre in Selkirk, Man., and St. Amant Centre in Winnipeg provide oral care to people with special needs. Senior dentistry and dental hygiene students rotate through the Access Downtown and Deer Lodge clinics. Some also travel to Churchill.

“It’s important for our students to gain experience with providing care to a wide range of individuals,” Bertone says. “It opens their eyes to another world that is very different from a private practice situation. “We hope with that exposure, and seeing what the need is, that when they’re in private practice, maybe they’ll think, ‘I could give one day a month to working in community clinics.’”

Another service provided by the CCOH is the mobile Home Dental Care Program, which also provides experience to students. Three vans transport dental equipment and oral-care teams to long-term care facilities to treat patients who are unable to visit traditional clinics. In the future, Bertone says, ultra-lightweight, easy-to-clean portable dental equipment may make it possible to increase care in private homes.

As for other outreach initiatives, Bertone has started discussions with several First Nations in Manitoba, hoping to establish partnerships. It’s important that the communities themselves define what their needs are, she says.

Bertone would also like to see the CCOH improve access to affordable care for seniors. Access Downtown, she notes, charges 25 per cent less than the Manitoba fee guide rate. “We’d like to offer that same discount one day a week at Deer Lodge, and from there we could expand it. But we need to find more dentists to work in our program. “A lot of older adults travel from the western part of the city all the way to Access Downtown to get the 25 per cent discount. So we know there is a need.”

The Smiles for Miles program helps sponsor dental hygiene care for newcomers to Canada who otherwise not receive it, and provide senior dental hygiene students with the opportunity to provide care free of charge.

For Mary Bertone, Director and Assistant Professor in the School of Dental Hygiene, Smiles for Miles will give dental hygiene students a chance to interact with people from different cultures and provide a level of clinical experience that they might not have otherwise encountered.

“We expect this to reinforce the role we play as dental professionals and as an institution in the community and the importance of giving back,” Bertone says. “We expect these sessions to be both informative and eye opening for newcomers and we are thrilled at the prospect of our students experiencing firsthand the impact that their skills and efforts can have on their lives.”

According to Bertone, Smiles for Miles is being directed towards Canadian newcomers because they are an at risk group that does not have the opportunity or awareness to receive dental hygiene care unless it is provided by a government sponsored program or through an employer that offers dental coverage.

The College of Dentistry currently operates two community clinics in Winnipeg that provide dental services to community members, including newcomers, but the services are limited and do not cover dental hygiene care. Dr. Anthony Iacopino, Dean of the College of Dentistry, put out a challenge to the college to find a new way to offer dental hygiene care to newcomers and Smiles for Miles was born.

Yolandes Gebreyonas is one of the first newcomers to receive the Smiles for Miles treatment. Originally from Eritrea, she arrived in Winnipeg with her family this past fall.

“I heard about Smiles for Miles from the Deer Lodge Centre and they sent me here,” she said. “I am very happy to be here.”

Bertone says the goal of the Smiles for Miles is to have each senior class dental hygiene student provide care to one newcomer, representing a goal of providing care to 25 newcomers. Smiles for Miles is an ongoing program entirely funded by donations from the dental community, dental industry, friends and family.

To make your donation to Smiles for Miles click here.