Good dental hygiene & smiles….
“Project Smile” began in 1992 as a cooperative effort between the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia and the Anglican Diocese of Belize, in Central America. We are a prevention oriented dental program for indigent children. Every year various teams of volunteer dentists, along with auxiliary personnel, trained and untrained; travel to Belize to St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church in Belize City. There we have a permanent 7-chair dental treatment facility in an unused classroom at St. Mary’s School. We also have a 3-chair clinic in the mountains near Guatemala.
We treat children ages 4 – 14 years, provide cleanings, fluoride treatments, fillings, and treat abscesses. Every child in the schools receives toothbrushes and toothpaste, which are used at school every day after lunch. Every Wednesday they receive a fluoride rinse given by trained adult volunteers.
Since 1999 we have expanded our dental program to include the children at:
- St. Mary the Virgin Anglican School (all students plus Fluoride rinse program)
- St. John’s Anglican Cathedral School — bussed 3 miles (Fluoride rinse also)
- Hattiesville School — bussed 40 miles
- The Belize School for the Blind — bussed 90 miles
- The Stella Maris Government School- for mentally and physically challenged
- All Saints’ Anglican School (added 2003)
- Queen’s Square Primary School (added 2004)
- Cayo District School (added 2006)
- Succotz Town (added 2008)
As of March, 2009, and our 41st mission, we have treated over 9,000 children, provided toothbrushes, paste, and weekly fluoride rinses to all students in these schools.
2008-2009 synopsis: (one year only)
4 Mission trips, 5 Teams
- Total patients served 1206
- Total US dollar amount of dentistry completed $217,989
- Total fees charged to children $0
Read the complete synopsis here.
Our relationship with the Anglican Diocese in Belize has been wonderful! We enjoy the company of local adult Belizean volunteers, family-style meals, worship, fellowship and fun. For U.S. volunteers, our time in Belize is a life changing experience. We rely on private donations to make this wonderful program succeed.
Since December 2002, Project Smile, Inc. has been a nonprofit corporation with a tax-free status as determined by the Internal Revenue Service in section 501 (c) (3).