It all started last December, when Dr. Jess Chhokar had the idea that he wanted to do something to give back to the community of Langdon where he’d established his dental practice. He did some brainstorming, chatted with his staff and fellow community members, and pretty soon, the Langdon Dental Cares 4 Kids Campaign was born. Set to become an annual event, the Campaign is geared towards youth from 0-18 years of age who do not have access to basic dental care; Dr. Chhokar and his team decided to dedicate a day to helping these children out, providing free dental work to anyone who qualified.
Fast forward to February 3, 2017, the date chosen for the Langdon Dental Cares 4 Kids Campaign. The practice was bustling with staff sporting special shirts to mark the occasion, and there was an excitement in the office. Legends Kitchen and Bar had just brought over some food for the hard-working team, and everyone was taking a moment to catch their breath and enjoy a bit of a break during the busy day. I took the opportunity to chat with Dr. Chhokar and his staff about how things had gone so far, and what had prompted them to create this event.
“2016 was such a hard year,” Dr. Chhokar told me. “A lot of people lost their jobs, lost their benefits. We’d hear it on the phone, people would lose their insurance and couldn’t come in…That was the driving factor, hearing a lot of comments, and trying to figure out what we could do to help.”
And help they did! By all accounts, the Langdon Dental Cares 4 Kids Campaign was a huge success, with the team and Dr. Chhokar providing over $8000 of free dental work to deserving kids from the Langdon area! Even in the face of such an incredible achievement, though, Dr. Chhokar wasn’t taking a moment to rest – instead, he was already excited about next year’s event and how to make it even bigger.
“There was some hesitation with maybe being a little bit embarrassed,” he suggested to me. “That barrier maybe slowed the turnout a little bit.” Due to the fact that Langdon Dental was focussed on helping children under the age of majority, there were some hurdles to clear with regards to signing candidates up for the program. Every youth needed to have the approval of their parents, and pride sometimes got in the way of taking a helping hand when it was offered. Still, Dr. Chhokar remained undeterred.
“This is just our first year, it’s only going to get bigger and better,” he happily grinned. “[People have been] very grateful, everyone’s been very appreciative. For us to have our jobs, it’s based on the community. If people didn’t come here, we’d be unemployed, so it’s nice to give back.” When asked about what’s next, the team at Langdon Dental told me they’re looking forward to taking part in Langdon Days, and to keep an eye out for them at the fun summertime event – after which, they’ll be putting all their efforts toward making the 2nd Annual Langdon Dental Cares 4 Kids Campaign an even bigger success than it was this year.
On behalf of everyone from Langdon and the surrounding areas, we’d like to congratulate Langdon Dental for everything they achieved with this first annual Campaign, and to thank them for giving back so selflessly to the youth in our community.
If you need to make a dental appointment, or if you have any further questions about the Langdon Dental Cares 4 Kids Campaign, call Langdon Dental at (403) 936-8432, or send them an email at info@langdondental.com – they’ll be pleased to help you out!
