Hundreds to benefit from free dental care

FIFTEEN STUDENTS and two faculty members from the University of Florida's College of Dentistry will arrive in Jamaica today for a four-day trip, during which they will provide much-needed dental care for hundreds of residents from Kingston's inner city and rural Jamaica.

The group will, over a four-day period, see between 500 and 700 patients when they visit Whitfield Town Clinic and Ferry Clinic in Kingston, as well as the Brae's River Clinic in St Elizabeth. They will also be promoting preventative dentistry through fluoride treat-ment, cleaning and oral-hygiene education and awareness. People in dental pain will also receive immediate care. The intent of the mission is to visit the same communities annually so that progress can be traced.

Inspired by Lindsay Chang, a Jamaican sophomore dental student, the mission is being made possible in part by a J$800,000 donation by Supreme Ventures Limited.