Mon | Oct 6, 2025

William Knibb High students receive free dental care

Published:Monday | October 6, 2025 | 12:08 AM
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Dr Mark Stevenson (left), a dental practitioner with 34 years of experience, performs a root canal on a faculty member at William Knibb Memorial High School as part of the Great Shape! Inc. 1000 Smiles Mission, hosted at the school. Assisting him is Daniel
Contributed
Dr Mark Stevenson (left), a dental practitioner with 34 years of experience, performs a root canal on a faculty member at William Knibb Memorial High School as part of the Great Shape! Inc. 1000 Smiles Mission, hosted at the school. Assisting him is Daniel Park, a final-year student at the University of the Pacific’s Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry.
Dental practitioners provided oral care to students of William Knibb Memorial High during the Great Shape! Inc. 1000 Smiles Dental Mission held at the school last week. In addition to the school’s students, several students from nearby schools, as well a
Contributed
Dental practitioners provided oral care to students of William Knibb Memorial High during the Great Shape! Inc. 1000 Smiles Dental Mission held at the school last week. In addition to the school’s students, several students from nearby schools, as well as adults from the surrounding community, also received dental care.
Dental practitioners Andrew Lim (left) and Ryan Elido flash masked smiles for the camera as they clean a patient’s teeth during the Great Shape! Inc. 1000 Smiles Dental Mission, held recently at William Knibb Memorial High School in Trelawny.
Contributed
Dental practitioners Andrew Lim (left) and Ryan Elido flash masked smiles for the camera as they clean a patient’s teeth during the Great Shape! Inc. 1000 Smiles Dental Mission, held recently at William Knibb Memorial High School in Trelawny.
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More than 200 students at William Knibb Memorial High School received free, professional dental care this past week, thanks to the Sandals Foundation-sponsored Great Shape! Inc. 1000 Smiles Dental Mission.

Delivered in partnership with Jamaica’s Ministry of Health & Wellness and the Ministry of Education, the initiative provided students with cleanings, fillings, extractions, and oral health education, services that often prove difficult for many to access.

“This wasn’t my first time seeing a dentist,” said one William Knibb student. “But I had a tooth ache and now it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

The oral health clinic which also served the wider Trelawny community provided an added benefit to students’ holistic development. By addressing existing dental challenges, the services injected confidence within students, allowing for greater ease in focusing on teaching instruction and overall academic progress.

“When I heard of the clinic, I was very interested in having them come here because in this area, a lot of persons don’t see oral health as a priority or it’s not affordable for many,” said Linvern Wright, principal at William Knibb. He further noted that it was important to him for his students to not only get oral care but better understand its importance to their overall well-being.

“Dental pain affects more than just a smile; it can impact focus, self-esteem and certainly attendance,” said Wright.

“By caring for students’ oral health, we are helping to alleviate school absence that could stem from these issues, thereby affording them greater opportunities for uninterrupted learning. We’re incredibly grateful to the Great Shape! team,” he noted, adding that good health is paramount for focus and scholastic success.

The Great Shape! team—made up of volunteer dentists, hygienists, dental assistants, and support staff from across the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean—worked alongside school staff to deliver care directly on-site. Students also received oral hygiene kits and one-on-one guidance on how to maintain their dental health.

In addition to the care being extended at William Knibb, the Great Shape! Inc. Dental Mission also had a smaller team providing oral health education and oral hygiene kits to more than 3,500 students at Hague Primary, Williams Elite Academy, John Rollins Success and Catherine Hall Primary schools.

“The Great Shape! dental clinics have grown to become a key health service for families in rural communities,” said Rochelle Forbes, regional public relations manager at Sandals Montego Bay. “We at the Sandals Foundation will continue to support the volunteer mission as it expands its outreach across even more schools.”