The Jim Lund Clinic welcomed Dr. Sofia Kholmogorova, new Clinical Instructor on board to help oversee the clinical activities and training of dental students. Dr. Kholmogorova has a passion for community dentistry and has been working in the community since completing her DMD from Univeristé de Montréal. She will be working at the Jim Lund Clinic 2 days a week alongside Dr. Paul Sweet.
“At UdM I was given opportunities to participate in several local community outreach projects such as the Jeunes de Rue and REZO where we treated young people living on the street,” says Dr. Kholmogorova. “We were given a lot of freedom to express our creativity in treatment planning these difficult cases as long as we were willing to put in the work. I learned that with a bit of imagination and a lot of cooperation it is possible to achieve a lot with surprisingly little. This inspired me to continue along the path of community dentistry and dental public health.” When the opportunity for to join the team at the Jim Lund Clinic came along she knew it was the perfect fit. It was a chance to combine her love for community dentistry and teaching. She is also a Clinical Instructor at the REZO Community Clinic supervising UdeM students and in the McGill Multidisciplinary Clinic with the DMD III students.
Dr. Kholmogorova will be replacing Dr. Quoc Nguyen who is pursuing advanced graduate studies in Prosthodontics at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Nguyen started in the clinic in February 2013 and has been a huge contributor to the success of the clinic this far. “My biggest accomplishment is to be valued as a great instructor by students and being able to provide a supportive and engaging learning environment,” says Dr. Nguyen of his time at the Jim Lund Clinic. “At the end of every rotation, when students express themselves about how much they have learned in a matter of days, or about how much they were able to achieve; that’s when I feel incredibly proud. I will always be very grateful for the privilege to teach such wonderful people.”The Jim Lund Clinic has been serving patients unable to afford a visit to the dentist since 2011. It is Montreal’s first permanent, free community dental care clinic. The clinic runs on a collaboration between the Faculty of Dentistry and Welcome Hall Mission, and philanthropic support. Last year 697 patients were treated at the clinic and received over $330 000 worth of free dental treatments.