Dentist on Demand

Dr. Guy Smith has made smiles a little brighter at Siloam Mission since 2018. The volunteer dentist from Brandon has been semi-retired for several years but regularly makes the trek to Winnipeg to help community members. For him, the whole experience started with a tour of the Saul Sair Health Centre. 

“When you see the people that come to this facility at Siloam Mission, these are people that literally have nothing more than the backpack on their backs,” said Dr. Smith. “And that’s really touching because they have a need just as you and I do.”

For Dr. Smith, the need he could fulfill was obvious: dental care.

Dr. Smith is retiring next year and will no longer be able to practice. While we’ll all miss him and the work he does in the clinic, we’re wishing him the best in his retirement. But even in retirement, Dr. Smith is still trying to help Siloam by putting out a call to his peers in the dentistry community so that the health centre still has the resources to provide dentistry care to community members. 

His advice to dentistry professionals? Start with the tour. 

“I would encourage anybody who is thinking of being a donor, I would really encourage them to come and take the tour of the mission. Because that’s what gets you hooked,” says Dr. Smith, “because you come and see what amazing facilities like the multi purpose facility Siloam has here, how much we do for people, and it’s volunteer driven. So I think you have to do the tour first. Because once you do the tour, then I think you look at it, and you go, wow, how can I help?”

Thanks for making smiles brighter, Dr. Smith. We wish you a very happy retirement!

If you work in dentistry or the healthcare field and would like to join the team of volunteer healthcare professionals, please contact volunteer services at volunteer@siloam.ca.