Dwellers of slums in the city's Govindpuri area might have a reason to smile, literally, with an Australian aid programme having funded the setting up of a dental clinic which would cater to them.
The Shanti Sahyog Charitable Dental Centre, a one-room air -conditioned facility was unveiled today by Lisa Usback, Consul General, Australian High Commission, which runs the Direct Aid Program (DAP).
The grant programme supports small-scale, sustainable grassroots development projects in India.
Meanwhile, nestled in the middle of 17 slums, the clinic established by NGO Shanti Sahyog aims to cater to around 30,000 families.
The NGO is already running a a variety of programmes dealing with education of the girl child, night shelters, free eye camps etc., for underprivileged communities in Delhi.
The Commission has granted around Rs 3.17 lakh for dental care equipment for the clinic.
"Patients who come here will get proper care at subsidised rates for even very expensive operations," said Reena Khanna, the dentist at the centre.
"We operated on a woman who had multiple layers of fillings in her frontal tooth so much so that she could even remove it as and when required. She came to us and we reconstructed it and now her teeth looks natural," she said.
The procedure, which typically costs around Rs 20,000 was done for Rs 5,000, which was paid in instalments, the doctor pointed out.
