Dental Health & Homelessness: How You Can Help

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Dental health issues can be devastating for anyone. 

If you’ve ever felt the inescapable pain of a toothache, you can certainly understand. Now, imagine if you didn’t have the financial resources to get dental care… imagine you were homeless, too.

What can the city do to help? Fortunately, Portland’s local dental clinics offer many community outreach programs, providing services ranging from routine cleanings to more serious procedures like extractions or root canals. Programs like Bridgeview, Greater Portland Health, and Oregon Dental have well-established presences enabling their meaningful work.


Well, what can you do to help? Once the patient is in contact with one of the services mentioned above, the hard work is mostly done. But, prevention of the problem is really the goal and that means making effective dental hygiene possible. Fortunately, this is an affordable proposition.


Online vendors have many, many options for dental care kits like this one, but it’s more affordable to purchase multipacks of soft or medium-bristled toothbrushes, floss, travel-sized toothpaste, and small bottles of germ-killing mouthwash. Package each kit in a sealable bag and you can give these out directly or leave them in places where those in need can find them. Importantly, you can also include a printed list of services in your area. 


It's simple, affordable, and you can get started at any time. 


This will help. This is how you can help. 



Location: Portland, OR, USA

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