Noah’s Story of Hope – Part 1

Meet Noah—a beautiful, talented, 14-year-old girl. For most youth her age, this is an exciting, care-free time. Her narrative, however, is quite different.

Noah moved to Abbotsford with her family when she was in grade 4.  In a new city and new school, she was given her first negative nickname—and for the first time, attention was brought to Noah’s teeth. Up until this point, she had not noticed that her teeth were different. She had, for the most part, been a confident and happy child.  But now, at the young age of 8, she became self-conscious.
By the time that she had entered middle school, her smile became guarded and she developed severe anxiety when talking to new people. It became so intense that she needed to enter a program that allowed her to learn in a smaller class size, just to escape the potential ridicule. When her anxiety reached a crisis level, she reached out to a school counsellor who suggested a number of interventions—one of which was braces.

This, however, was beyond her family’s means. Without any other option, Noah’s counsellor contacted the Abbotsford Food Bank. Luckily for her, the Food Bank offered a free Dental Clinic—the only of its kind in Food Banks Canada—and upon hearing Noah’s story, we were able to get her in for a cleaning and assessment.

Unfortunately, the Dental Clinic did not have orthodontics available. Rather than let her down, Lala, the clinic’s coordinator, vowed to do everything possible to help her.

Later that day, she contacted Dr. Julia Ng at Refine Orthodontics, an orthodontist in Abbotsford—someone who has been specializing in this treatment for many years. To her delight, Dr. Ng and her team were eager to help. They understood that one’s adolescent years can be trialing. Dr. Ng had been a young orthodontic patient herself and understood the impact a beautiful smile had on one’s self-esteem.  In Dr. Ng’s words:  “Orthodontics positively impacted my life, which is why I chose this path and am passionate about what I do.” The Refine Orthodontics team felt privileged to embark on this journey with Noah.

Now, thanks to the intervention of a school counselor, the Free Dental Clinic and Refine Orthodontics, Noah is on the 2 to 3-year journey of orthodontic treatment. When asked how she feels about receiving this treatment, she said—with a smile—that she is full of hope.

Follow along with us as Noah enters this journey of transformation.  We are so happy to be a part of a such a beautiful testimony. This is why the Free Dental Clinic exists at the Abbotsford Food Bank—to bring the promise of a better future.