Community Involvement

The entire team of Laurelwood Dental is very passionate about helping those less fortunate and unable to meet their dental needs locally and internationally. Drs. Rice and Hall are involved in numerous charitable programs including:

• Senior Smile Dental Service, sponsored by the Multnomah Dental Society, where approved seniors receive dental treatment at half price
• Donated Dental Services program, run by the National Foundation of Dentistry for the handicapped, where approved individuals receive dental treatment at no cost at all
• Our office participates in a Donated Dental Day, where the staff forfeits their pay for the day and we forward all proceeds from that day to a non-profit organization
• Give Kids a Smile Day, the American Dental Association’s day in February where offices like ours and OHSU open up an unscheduled day to treat kids in need
• Medical Teams International, an international program providing dental and health care to people in need all around the world
• Mobile Dental Van, where the doctors and assistants volunteer their services on Medical Team International’s mobile dental clinic which travels to schools and health fairs around Oregon, especially the Metro area
• Sealant Screenings, Multnomah County health department free screenings of elementary children for sealant need and sealant treatment.

We encourage our patients to get involved in the spirit of giving, and include them in our numerous drives. In the past we have collected hygiene items and donated them to a local organization called Sisters of the Road that helps the homeless. We participated in "Operation Shoebox" this last year, where we collected school supplies for children in Honduras.

Our ears are always open for new organizations to support; if you have an organization that is near and dear to your heart, we would love to hear from you.

Medical Teams International

Medical Teams International is a non-profit humanitarian relief and development organization that was founded in 1979. In its 28-year history, Medical Teams International has deployed more than 1,650 volunteer teams and shipped over $1 billion in antibiotics, surgical kits and lifesaving medicines to care for 35 million people in 100 countries.

International Dental Program

In many communities around the world, the water does not provide enough fluoride to protect teeth. Dental problems are significantly higher in developing countries, and people have poor access to basic health services.

The goal of Medical Teams Internationals’ dental program is to provide quality care for acute dental needs, train local health workers and work with our partners in developing countries to achieve this goal. International dental teams can travel to remote places to perform dental care to people in need. Teams usually do not have access to certain equipment typically found in Western dental offices. However, teams report that despite lack of modern conveniences, they gain satisfaction in caring for patients in desperate need.

Dr. Rice has volunteered in their International Dental Program every year since 2004. He was invited by a colleague that had volunteered the year prior and had shared his wonderful experience, which ignited his travels. Dr. Rice, his assistant of 20 years, Debra, and wife, Char, have been to Cambodia three times and twice to Romania.

Mobile Dental Van

Medical Teams International’s Mobile Dental Clinic program began in 1989 with just one van operating in the Portland area. Now operating in 39 counties, volunteer dental professionals aboard these 38-foot, state-of-the-art vehicles have treated more than 140,000 patients. Medical Teams International Mobile Dental Program operates 10 dental vans in the Pacific Northwest, four of them in the Portland and Salem regions. Currently these four vans serve nearly 7, 000 patients.

Dr. Rice, Dr. Hall, and a number of our dental assistants have volunteered on the Dental Van over the years. All of them enjoy giving back to the community any way they can.

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