Touching lives, one smile at a time.

"Mimi nilikuwa na jino moja hapa nyuma lilikuwa linaniuma sana, hasa nikiwa kwa barabara upepo ikinipiga. Kuenda hosi wanasema ni elfu tatu kutoa, na mimi natengeneza mia tano kwa siku. Kusikia GemSmiles wako hapa Kibra, nilienda mbio sana. Walinipokea vizuri, wakanidunga sindano na kutoa hilo jino bure. Sasa nalala fiti na napiga kazi bila shida. Mungu awabariki sana."

"Meno yangu yalikuwa yametoboka na nilikuwa nashindwa hata kula mahindi choma vizuri. Nilipata habari za medical camp ya GemSmiles kupitia kwa chifu wangu. Nilifika asubuhi na mapema. Madaktari wao wana roho nzuri sana, walinisafisha na kuniziba matundu yote bila kuitisha hata shilingi moja. Mpaka wakanipatia mswaki na dawa ya meno. Hakika wametuokoa."

"Being inside here is hard enough, but having a rotting molar for three years makes it hell. You can't sleep, you can't chew the posho properly. The prison clinic does what they can with painkillers, but when the GemSmiles Foundation dentists set up their mobile clinic at Kamiti, it was like a prayer answered. They pulled it out in minutes. The dentist actually joked with me and treated me like a human being, not just a prisoner number. I’m finally pain-free."

"My seven-year-old son, Trevor, had these black spots on his teeth, and his gums were always swelling. Every time I took him to a private clinic, they gave me a quotation that was just impossible for my small salon business to cover. When the GemSmiles camp came to Mbagathi, we queued for barely an hour. The pediatric dentist was so patient with him. They did two fillings, applied fluoride, and showed him how to brush using a plastic mouth model. Trevor now reminds me to brush at night."

"Honestly, I only went to the GemSmiles camp because my pals were going and we heard there were free checkups. I’ve never seen a dentist in my entire life. I thought my teeth were okay until they did a screening and found serious plaque build-up. The hygienist did a full-mouth scaling. Man, the amount of tartar that came out was crazy. My mouth feels so light and fresh now, and my gums have stopped bleeding when I brush."

"During the harvest season, the dust is everywhere, and my gums would flare up so badly. I had what the doctor called chronic periodontitis. I had already lost two teeth to it. At the Kitale outreach, the GemSmiles team deep-cleaned my gums and gave me a course of antibiotics. The dentist sat me down and explained how my environment and diet were making it worse. No one had ever broken it down for me like that. My gums have finally healed, and I can eat without wincing."

"I've always been insecure about my smile because of a chipped front tooth from a childhood fall. I honestly thought fixing it was something only rich people in Kilimani do. I walked into the GemSmiles camp just to get a basic checkup. The dentist there managed to shape and do a composite restoration on my front tooth for absolutely free. I literally cried when I looked in the mirror. I can actually smile in photos now without covering my mouth with my hand."