About the project
Recently, the Lviv Regional Psychoneurological Dispensary and the Lviv Psychoanalytic Institute of Mental Health, in collaboration with the Olesia Kyrychuk Dental Center and the “Initiatives for Mental Health” Charitable Foundation, launched the charitable project “A Healthy Smile for Everyone!”
The project was created to provide access to dental services for one of
the most vulnerable segments of the population—patients in psychiatric facilities. The idea is to create another opportunity to destigmatize people with mental disorders and help improve their physical and social well-being. The procedures are performed by a team of experienced specialists with over 20 years of experience. To date, one of the project participants has already undergone the first surgical stage, which was performed by the center’s dentist and surgeon, Zoryana Putko.
One of the project’s co-authors and inspirers is singer and dentist Olesia Kyrychuk. Olesia is known for her creative work; in 2006, she won the seventh season of the TV show “Chance,” participated in the second season of the singing talent show “The Voice of the Country: New Story,” actively records her own songs, and creates show programs in various styles, such as retro (cabaret), disco, opera, and rock. Yet despite all this, Olesya never abandoned her other profession—that of a dentist. From childhood, Olesya wanted to be either a dentist or a psychiatrist. She spent a long time choosing between singing and these professions. However, in the end, she didn’t have to make a choice, because Olesya managed to combine these two seemingly incompatible pursuits. On the day the project launched, we spoke with Olesya and found out why she decided to co-create this particular charity project.
I: Why did you decide to become a dentist after all?
O: Because dentistry is private medicine, and dentists, thanks to this, are free people. In this field, you don’t depend on anyone; you can achieve everything on your own. Especially financially, since everything is transparent, unlike our healthcare system, which is complicated for doctors. When I was applying to university, I had to choose between singing and dentistry, and that was difficult for me. However, I decided to enroll in medical school and, at the same time, sing as a hobby. I started earning money from both at the same time.
A smile is a very important way of presenting oneself to the world. When a person smiles and their smile is healthy, other people perceive them in a completely different way. There are even studies showing a link between dental problems and difficulties with career advancement.
From an internal perspective, dental diseases also affect a person’s overall health, including the health of the stomach, lungs, and even the heart.
In other words, teeth are a very important part of our body that affects our overall well-being.
I: So everything in the body is connected, right?
O: Exactly, which is why I believe this project is very important, and we will work to improve the physical, psychological, and social lives of these vulnerable people.
Lyudmila Samsonova, co-author of the project, Head of the Department at the Lviv Psychoneurological Dispensary, and one of the founders of the Lviv Psychoanalytic Institute of Mental Health, also shared her thoughts.
LO: We have previously worked on various charitable projects together with the Lviv Psychoanalytic Institute of Mental Health, including organizing concerts, exhibitions, photo projects, and more. However, without Olesia, we couldn’t even have imagined a project like this. Olesia used to perform at our concerts as an artist, but this kind of collaboration is new for us. The initiative for this project belongs to Olesia and the Institute, but in the future, we hope that other dental clinics will join it.
This project, in particular, is very valuable because, as we heard from Olesia, dental health is very important, but for our patients, dental services are an unattainable luxury. It is important to note that our patients often lose their dental health due to the medications they take. One of the side effects of these medications is toxicity to the teeth.