Caring Hands of Maine is getting ready to head north with their team of dentists, dental students and more than $250,000 worth of dental equipment to treat Mainers living in The County for free.
For three days starting Wednesday, June 3, Dr. Timothy Oh, the nonprofit’s director and founder, and his team will transform the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians Resource Center in Houlton into a working dental clinic, complete with the latest technology and X-ray capabilities, for the Aroostook Charitable Dental Clinic.
“Last year we had people from Fort Kent and Caribou,” said Dannette Ellis, volunteer director at the Houlton nonprofit Aid for Kids, which sponsors the event. “There is a big need in the area.”
For many Aroostook County residents, dental care is out of reach because few dentists are accepting new patients and many no longer take MaineCare payments. Driving to Bangor or Augusta is cost prohibitive or impossible for people who don’t have transportation or the funds to pay for care.
“Most people tell us, ‘I’ve been trying to get a dentist for four or five years,’” Oh said during last year’s free clinic.
That’s where Caring Hands of Maine comes in. The full-time, mission driven, nonprofit dental program operates the Caring Hands of Maine Dental Center in Ellsworth and funds the free dental care it brings to communities such as Houlton.
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The travel component of the program has been going to rural communities across the state since 2010 and made its first foray into The County in 2016.
Aid for Kids’ Ellis handles the logistics, housing and meals, while the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians donated the use of the building for the three-day clinic.
Last June, more than 100 northern Maine residents, unable to access regular dental care, had their teeth examined, filled, extracted and cleaned at the portable clinic.
“We strive to bring care to underserved areas,” Oh said.
Caring Hands of Maine clinics also provide training for dental students from various dental programs around the nation.
Oh is on faculty at Tufts and the University of New England College of Dental Medicine, and he formerly served at the University of Maine.
All ages of people without a regular dentist are eligible to receive treatment at Charitable Dental Clinic. The resource center is located at 654 North St. in Houlton
For more information or to schedule an appointment call 207-667-6789.
