Since fall 2023, Smiles of Faith has served as Tulsa’s first free, mobile dental clinic, providing underserved north Tulsa communities access to free dental care.
Smiles of Faith was created after church members of Centenary United Methodist, Boston Avenue United Methodist, Metropolitan Baptist, Morningstar Baptist and Vernon African Methodist Episcopal joined forces and researched the needs of north Tulsa communities. After much deliberation, the group decided in early 2020 that providing access to free dental care would help address one of the community’s most pressing needs.
While Smiles of Faith is a newer program in Tulsa, Meredith Davison, Ph.D., chair of fundraising, has been there since the beginning.
As a public health professional, Davison has worked with free clinics throughout her career. She was aware of free clinics in the Tulsa area, but noticed many only focused on medical care, leaving dental out of the picture.