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Sharing Smiles Day Saturday Dental and dental hygiene students are hosting the fourth annual Sharing Smiles Day in Oakville Saturday to help increase access to proper oral healthcare to people with special needs. Oral health, Total health is a Toronto-based, not-for-profit organization with the mission to advocate, educate and improve oral healthcare for those with special needs. "Currently, oral health is one of the top unmet health needs for persons with special needs, who suffer from a greater prevalence of oral disease and, unfortunately, have the hardest time finding local dental care," stated a press release. "Many individuals travel up to eight hours to Toronto for a 15-minute checkup. This is an unacceptable reality for persons with special needs, and it is our goal to change it." The Sharing Smiles Day event is one of the ways the organization hopes to change that reality by bringing together more than 500 dental and dental hygiene students from the University of Toronto and George Brown College, and persons with special needs on Saturday, March 24. The event will be held at Le Dome Banquet Hall (1173 North Service Rd. E.) from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. -- Canadian musician Justin Hines and Toronto Argonauts football player Andre Durie will also be in attendance. "The outcomes of this initiative will include breaking the current attitudinal barriers that exist between dental students and persons with special needs by educating and advocating that the treatment for this population does not require the use of special equipment or training," stated the release. "It will increase the likelihood of the dental students to treat this population in their private clinics upon graduation thereby bringing about equality of treatment. "Within the community, it will bring awareness to the issues and challenges, which persons with special needs have to face each day in addition to the importance of oral health care as it relates to not only persons with special needs, but to everyone's overall health and quality of life." Visit www.ohth.ca for more information. 19 · Friday, March 23, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com