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CanHelp Through Healthcare is a nonprofit corporation that was established in 2019 by Dr. Laurie Houston, DDS, to deliver health care to communities in need internationally. While the focus of the organization is to provide dental care to people who cannot afford or access such service, we also hope to align with other healthcare professionals in the future to deliver basic family medical aid, including healthcare aids for young women, family planning education, and further nutritional counselling.

Our long term objective is to create sustainable relationships with several communities with teams returning to the same communities annually, biannually, or semiannually with a focus on both dental and basic healthcare education. Projects last between one week to two weeks; we bring all necessary equipment and supplies, including mobile dental units, small equipment, instrument sterilization units, and dental materials.

Our principle objective is to restore oral health and self esteem, as well as providing education to improve oral health practices and nutritional knowledge. We do this by bringing small teams of professionals which provide dental restorations, including white and silver fillings, simple and surgical tooth extractions ( to mitigate serious systemic health consequences due to infection), endodontic treatment (root canal) for anterior and bicuspid teeth ( to preserve dentition, remove infection, and promote self esteem), and simple and comprehensive teeth cleanings ( dental scaling, to remove ubiquitous oral bacteria in the form of both dental plaque and well established dental calculus). We also distribute toothbrushes and toothpaste to our patients and the community at large (when possible), and discuss the consequences, both dental and systemic ( including diabetes, obesity, and increased inflammatory conditions), of over consumption of dietary sugar and lack of proper oral care. In future, we also hope to provide simple dental prostheses to improve self esteem and restore smiles.

While our short term goals are to alleviate dental pain and infection, and restore dentition, our long term goals include improved personal nutritional and healthcare practices, to create an improved and sustainable healthcare situation in the communities we serve.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Our board of directors is a small, committed groups of volunteers that reflect legal and fiscal expertise, as well as previous board and volunteer experience. Our administrative expenditures are almost nil. It is our intention to keep project fees for volunteers as low as possible, while delivering healthcare as close to First World standards as possible, including proper infection control and sterilization of instruments, and the use of current materials within expiration dates. We also believe fiscal transparency and accountability is essential in the development and execution of these initiatives. We partner with like minded individuals or organizations in the communities we serve to facilitate logistics and communication with the intent of developing long term relationships.