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Thousands of Londoners who can’t afford to get their teeth fixed might get relief from a quiet push to set up the first dental clinic in the city for the impoverished.

In a city where more than 70,000 people live beneath the poverty line, observers say the need is dire. Many people wind up in hospital emergency rooms or at the public health office seeking basic care that other Londoners have covered under their workplace insurance plans.

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No more, vow organizers of a new non-profit dental clinic that would treat up 3,500 patients a year, providing more than $440,000 a year in services.

The only catch? Another $150,000 of a $500,000 fundraising goal is needed to open the clinic that, in a city with medical resources many communities can only dream of, still lacks a dedicated service to ensure the most vulnerable get basic dental care.

“In a way, it’s part of the plan to fight poverty in London,” said Dr. Kenneth Wright, a dentist, adjunct professor at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry and project organizer. “We want to help people who can’t afford dentistry.”