Gift from the Heart Information

The Gift from the Heart is a Canadian charity connecting oral health care professionals to vulnerable Canadians who encounter barriers accessing essential oral health care. Canada does not have a national oral health program. Each year millions of Canadians go without access to oral health care. We all know someone who cannot financially afford preventive oral health services. They are the vulnerable people of our communities. They are the neglected, those without dental insurance or those on a fixed income and the fearful. In 2008, Gift from the Heart began as a one-day event which allowed Registered Dental Hygienists to give back to their communities by providing no-cost dental hygiene care. The response was overwhelming. To date, Gift from the Heart has gifted over 1.5 million dollars (CAD) in no-cost dental care, has welcomed over 3000 volunteer Oral Healthcare professionals and made the lives of over 13,000 Canadians better. Gift from the Heart believes access to dental care and preventive oral health care is a basic human right. The Gift from the Heart charity will address the problem that millions of Canadians go without access to dental care and preventive oral health care, mainly due to financial barriers. Lack of access translates to millions of Canadians missing an opportunity to have a potentially life-saving oral cancer screening. If their cancer was caught earlier, they might still be alive today. If Canadians have access to an oral health care professional their quality of life improves through improved overall, emotional and psychological health. This problem is significant due to the lack of a national dental health program and this problem is occurring because Canadians face barriers. April 2023, GFTH Opened an Outreach Dental Clinic in Brighton, Ontario a solution to bridging the gap that currently exists in rural communities. You can make a difference with your donations. https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/11095226-canada-foundation/