Imagine being in a completely new place, separated from everything familiar to you, surrounded by unfamiliar culture and people who speak a language you don’t understand. Regular activities like grocery shopping or navigating public transportation are complicated when everything is new. You have a toothache that won’t subside, and you need to see a dentist. What do you do?
Proudly partnered with The Saskatoon Open Door Society and Global Gathering Place
For the past 8 years, we have had the honour of partnering with two outstanding local organizations in Saskatoon, who each offer a host of programming to support refugees and immigrants settling into a new life in Canada. A huge part of that is helping them navigate and access health care systems. Through their programming, we are able to provide professional dental care to newcomers who have never seen a dentist in Canada before—many who have never seen a dentist before, period.
The Global Gathering Place, among many other programs, offers The PATH program (Providing Access To Healthcare) support in navigating the healthcare system and overcoming language or transportation barriers to accessing health care, sometimes with the use of Cultural Health Navigators who attend appointments to help interpret language and culture to promote health literacy for refugees and immigrants to Saskatoon. Visit their website to learn more about their programs.
The Open Door Society provides similar assistance to newcomers at every step of their settlement journey. Through their programming, they offer a range of guidance, orientation and counseling to help newcomers learn how community services and other local, provincial and federal programs work, including how to access healthcare and dental care. Visit their website.
Everyone is welcome here
Our door is open to newcomers and people from all cultures. This is represented in the mural in our lobby area, by artist Kevin Pee-ace of Yellowquill First Nation. It celebrates cultural diversity by depicting how we are all related as children of the same earth, breathing the same air. We are all deserving of the same rights, freedoms, and dignity. We all need access to health care and professional dental care.
We are grateful for the ongoing opportunities to interact with people from all over the world as we tend to their oral health needs.
A great smile starts with a positive experience
Anyone who is afraid of the dentist because someone was unfriendly to them and couldn’t communicate in a way they understand will hesitate to seek dental care in the future.
We are grateful to the Open Door Society and The Global Gathering Place for bringing newcomers to BLOK Dental Studio for their first dental care appointment in Canada. We know that by providing them with a positive experience on the first visit, they’ll be more comfortable and inclined to seek the regular care needed for optimal oral health for the rest of their lives.
Accepting new patients and newcomers for Dental checkups and cleanings
We are proud and happy to provide professional and compassionate intercultural dental care to all refugees and newcomers who come to our clinic. The level of care that we give to newcomers is equal to every other patient who visits our dental clinic. Knowing how hard transitioning into a new life can be, we do everything we can to make dental visits pleasant, empowering, and comfortable for our newcomer patients.
First-time patients can fill in our contact form and we will get back to you to set up a date and time that works for you.
“I frequently drive a newcomer family to the clinic for their appointments.It is a very friendly, welcoming environment. The staff does their best in communicating with families and individuals. Their knowledge of different kinds of health coverage is excellent and the dental care is thorough and professional. Last, but not least, the kids love the little treasures they get to take home. Thanks!” — Marg Epp
