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UBC Geriatric
Dentistry Program

Faculty of Dentistry

Help ensure all seniors have access to oral healthcare

Good oral healthcare is essential to living a healthy life. But without current funding from provincial and federal governments, many seniors don’t have access to affordable dental care, which can severely affect their overall health and wellbeing.

For the past two decades, the UBC Geriatric Dentistry Program has made seniors a priority by providing dental care to those living in long-term care facilities. When the program first started, only a few facilities were serviced. Now, thanks to the generous support of donors, it’s expanded, with permanent dental clinics in five long-term care facilities and the Nobel Biocare Oral Health Centre on UBC’s Vancouver campus servicing seniors from across the Lower Mainland.

“Many seniors have medical complexities that make oral hygiene challenging, which means it’s important that dentists have the skillset to work with this population,” says Dr. Chris Wyatt, director of the Geriatric Dentistry Program. “This is a specialized area of dentistry and we’re fortune to have a program like this at UBC.”

The need for dentists experienced in geriatric care continues to grow and the UBC Geriatrics Dentistry Program is focused on educating the next generation of dental professionals. Your gift supports curriculum that pairs dental students with faculty experienced in working with this at-risk population. Students hone their clinical skills delivering oral care to residents in long-term care homes, ensure aging loved ones are taken care of well into the future.

With the global population aged 65 and over growing faster than all other age groups, there has never been a more critical time to invest in healthcare services for seniors, and in programs supporting the specialized dental education needed to care for this cohort.

Give today in support of the UBC Geriatric Dentistry Program, to help ensure that all seniors have timely access to oral healthcare and a healthy future.

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