A groundbreaking dental health initiative has brought transformative oral care to the island nation of Antigua, with the collaborative 1000 Smiles clinic providing free services to thousands of residents during its inaugural two-week mission. The program—spearheaded by the Sandals Foundation in partnership with nonprofit organization Great Shape! Inc.—successfully treated 3,575 patients through a comprehensive volunteer effort.
The extensive operation featured 121 dental professionals from the United States and Canada who delivered approximately 8,000 individual dental procedures. Services ranged from routine cleanings and fillings to extractions, restorative treatments, and urgent care interventions. The initiative received coordinated support from Antigua’s Ministry of Health, ensuring island-wide reach and impact.
Joseph ‘Papa Joe’ Wright, Founder of Great Shape! Inc., described the mission as particularly significant. ‘The response from communities across the island reminded us why this work matters—relieving pain, restoring dignity, and giving people reason to smile again,’ Wright noted, emphasizing the program’s profound effect on a population of approximately 100,000 residents.
Preventative care constituted a critical component of the initiative, with educational outreach extending to nearly 3,000 children across ten schools. The program distributed over 7,000 oral hygiene kits containing toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss to encourage sustained healthy practices beyond the clinic’s operation.
Heidi Clarke, Executive Director of the Sandals Foundation, highlighted the collaborative achievement: ‘This Antigua staging showed what is possible when trusted partners come together in service of community health.’ The Foundation covered all administrative costs and logistics, while Sandals Resorts provided volunteer accommodations, enabling dental professionals to concentrate exclusively on patient care.
With this successful deployment, Antigua now joins several Caribbean nations including Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, Grenada, The Bahamas, and Saint Lucia in benefiting from the ongoing dental mission program.