Dentists bring smiles for charity

MORE than 500 Kiwis left dental clinics around the country with gleaming smiles yesterday.

For the second year running, Lumino The Dentists opened up 25 of their practices throughout New Zealand as part of their joint initiative with the KidsCan charity.

Around 50 dentists, 15 hygienists and 100 support staff donated their time to complete the free dental treatments for a number of KidsCan families.

The value of the donated dental treatment is expected to exceed $150,000.

KidsCan’s general manager marketing and fundraising Jan Clark said the charity day was a blessing for families who delayed seeing a dentist due to their finances.

‘‘Dental treatment is often at the bottom of the list for households who are struggling to make ends meet,’’ Clark said.

‘‘That’s why KidsCan Lumino Day is aimed at helping the parents and adult family members of our KidsCan kids. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to help families in our communities access high quality dental treatment, for free.’’

Kerry Dunphy, marketing manager of Lumino The Dentists, said the day was one Lumino staff had looked forward to.

‘‘The first Lumino Day [in 2013] was an incredibly uplifting experience and we were so humbled by the people we met and were able to help on Lumino Day,’’ she said.

‘‘There was so much positive feedback from patients who had sometimes put off having dental treatment for months and even years. We are delighted to have this opportunity to work with KidsCan and hold Lumino Day again.’’