Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise partnered with the Eastside Family Dental Clinic (operated by the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics) to sponsor a Free Dental Day offering free oral health-treatment services for those who can’t afford major dental work.
The event has been sponsored by Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise since 2012 and has provided dental procedures for hundreds of Santa Barbara residents.
The Free Dental Day served 44 patients ranging in age from 4 to 73 years old. Services provided included 52 fillings, five extractions, seven root canals and other dental treatments.
The patients received exams, cleanings and x-rays prior to the event to ensure the support from Sunrise Rotary would have maximum impact. Volunteer Rotarians provided oral hygiene instruction to patients and their families in the waiting room.
Support for Free Dental Day is provided by the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise Charitable Foundation and a grant from Rotary International District 5240.
“Funding from organizations such as Sunrise Rotary is critical to our success,” said Dr. Domenic Caluori, chief dental officer of Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics. “There is always a gap in funding that can only be met through critical support from our community.”
The need for dental care for low-income families is tremendous. In California, there is one dentist for 12,000 low-income patients versus one dentist per 1,000 patients with private insurance or who can pay on their own.
Among those providing dental care were attending dentists and dental residents in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program, provided in partnership between Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics and New York University-Lutheran Medical Center.
The residency program offers training to evaluate patients’ total oral health needs and provides a full range of general dental care in a diverse and medically-complex population.
Eastside Family Dental Clinic is a part of Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, whose mission it is to provide high quality, comprehensive, affordable healthcare to all people, regardless of ability to pay.
More than 20,000 patients are seen each year at one of four medical and two dental clinics in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Isla Vista.
Rotary is an international leadership organization made up of local business, professional, and civic leaders. Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise, founded in 1985, is a diverse group of 50 members. The club meets weekly at 7 a.m. Wednesdays at 1105 Chapala St.
For more information, visit sbsunriserotary.org or call 884-6428.
— Karen Kawaguchi for Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise.