The "Smiling for the Community" project seeks to improve the lives of women trapped in the reality of prostitution by providing them with dental care, opening new doors for the women as they embark on the road to recovery.
Dozens of women, men, and transgender people have taken part in the project, which operates both at the Haifa Health Bureau and Lewinsky Clinic, and initially began some two years ago as a pilot project that later expanded with increased funding following an Israeli law banning prostitution in 2021.
The importance of dental care for prostitutes, notes Prof. Eli Makhtai, director of the Rambam School of Dentistry, which provides medical care for the project, stems from building trust with people that can potentially help them and their self-respect.
"The encounter with patients who come from this life is complex. Emotionally, many times these encounters are accompanied by fear and mistrust on the part of patients who are not used to putting their trust in medical professionals... it is important for us as educators of the future generation to give these values a stage. This is why therapists are interns here, alongside senior dentists. There is great satisfaction in the success of such treatment and the ability to give the patient the opportunity to feel good about themselves," said Prof. Makhtai.
Many of the women coming for treatment have also suffered from severe dental issues, often originating from drug use.
"Medically, this is a population that suffers from severe dental problems for various reasons, and its treatment is challenging," Prof. Makhtai added.
Some of the patients of the "Smile for the Community" project are currently in the process of rehabilitation and trying to change their lives and some are still taking their first steps. Along with the importance of having healthy teeth for self-respect, the project noted that it is important for finding jobs after leaving the life of prostitution.
"I want to look for work, feel beautiful and good about myself. Smile is important," says N., one of the patients, in her 30s, who is currently in the process of getting out of prostitution after giving birth to her second child.
“I have been using drugs for many years. I did not receive dental care because I did not have money for it. When I was offered to participate in the project I did not think twice. There is an opportunity here to fix something that is important to me to fix and I have no option to do it alone. I want to smile without being ashamed," N added.
Among the problems encountered by these women is the high cost of dental care, feeding the circle of entrapment in prostitution.
Noga Shiloach, Director of the mobile clinic for prostitution in Haifa, said that economic reasons are the primary factors affecting why more women do not receive dental care.
"First and foremost the economic reason. In a survey of young people on the sequence of feeds, about 70% of them answered that the lack of money prevents them from receiving dental care. Another reason is the fact that this group suffers from life circumstances that combine neglect, compartmentalization and trauma as a result of prolonged abuse. They tend to not trust or seek medical help. The scenario of sitting on a treatment chair, helpless, with an open mouth and a person they do not know, can make this group feel bad. Along with all this, many prostitutes engage in drugs, which deteriorates oral health on the one hand, but also makes it difficult to consume medical services consistently and orderly on the other," Shiloach highlighted.
Some of the procedures being offered by the project include Preservative treatments, extractions, fillings, implants, root canals and treatment of oral diseases.