Meet a Kelowna dentist who’s offering free treatment to kids

Dr. Vikas Raj comes from a family of giving, and believes you should ‘not stay in the limits you already know,’ as he puts it.

Raj is originally from India where he practised dentistry for 18 years. His parents run a school there for 1,200 children in need, as well as a charitable dental office.

In 2017, he passed his Canadian dental exams and now he and his wife Dr. Meera Raj, who is also a dentist, are based locally with their two kids.

“It’s like putting in a seed in the soil and watching it slowly coming up” Raj, who runs Access Dental Centre, told Kelowna10 when talking about his motivation for giving.

He attended an event of the East Meets West Children’s Foundation, which is run by Kelowna city councillor Mohini Singh, and that's where the “Smile 23” initiative came about; to offer a free check-up and cleaning for kids who don’t have dental coverage.

“It was so nice to see her helping kids from all over the world for so many years and we saw so many people coming [to the event] and raising thousands of dollars in just a few minutes,” Raj recalls. “Me and my wife were so excited.”

So, that night it was decided the Rajs would offer the free service in 2023 to 23 children aged 6 to 12 as per the “Smile 23“ moniker. Not surprisingly, the office was inundated with interest and Raj will end up seeing a total of 60 kids Saturday Jan.7, and the following Saturday.

“We always talk of a peaceful world and we can only have a joyful world if everyone is healthy,” he said, noting inflation has made it hard for some people to afford healthcare.

“It will be a great help. When there’s a financial burden in society, things like health: mental to dental are ignored. We’d love to offer this more in the future.”