A mobile dental clinic was unveiled on Thursday morning in Brussels in the presence of Brussels Minister of Health Alain Maron (Ecolo). Run by DentalFLUX, the clinic aims to provide free access to dental care to those in need.
DentalFLUX, a project created by mobile shower facility non-profit DoucheFLUX, aims to provide homeless and precarious Brussels residents with accessible dental care, in partnership with local CPAS authorities. It employs a team of volunteer dentists and paid assistants who plan to deploy the mobile dentist’s surgery at locations across the capital.
At its inaugural outing, a first patient received free dental treatment from the DentalFLUX bus in front of the social health centre Goujonissimo in the municipality of Anderlecht.
The rolling clinic is equipped with all the mod-cons of a traditional dentist’s practice: cleaning equipment, professional lighting, specialist dentist tools and even a television screen. The spacious portable space is big enough to accommodate a patient, as well as a dentist and several assistants.
Credit: DentalFLUX
“In Belgium, more than one person in three must give up dental care for financial reasons,” DentalFlux founder and dentist Michael Gabai told RTBF. “There is clearly a lack of access to this care, especially for the most vulnerable people. The formalities to access it are extremely long and complicated.”
The mobile clinic will operate three days a week and move between four venues: the Resto du Cœur in Saint-Gilles, the “L’Aire de Rien” centre in Forest, the DoucheFlux premises in Anderlecht, and the Goujonissimo centre. The organisation hopes to eventually expand its operation to five days per week.
The project has received support from the Brussels-Capital Region, the Belgian National Lottery, dental supplier Dental Quality, De Warmste Week and dental practice Odontalia.
