About Us

Our Mission

The mission of ADFVI is to improve the lives of underserved and at-risk populations in Israel, at no cost to our patients, without regard to their religion, race or ethnic origin. Since 1980, DVI provides education, prevention and treatment through collaboration and support from international partners, and local and international dentists.

What We Do

Through fundraising and volunteer recruitment efforts in the United States, AFDVI supports the work of Dental Volunteers for Israel at the Trudi Birger Clinic, which provides free dental care and oral health education to Jerusalem’s underprivileged regardless of racial, ethnic, or religious background. 

DVI depends on the generosity of donors and volunteers from the United States and around the world to prevent suffering and provide treatment to Jerusalem’s underserved and at-risk populations.  poorest children.

About the Clinic

For over 40 years, DVI has served to alleviate pain and suffering while improving the health and quality of life of Jerusalem’s most underprivileged youth.  In recent years, the clinic has expanded its outreach from serving only children to include older, at-risk youth up to age of 26.  Patients are referred to our program by Jerusalem’s Department of Social Welfare Services and over 30 other local non-profit organizations, including yeshivas, children’s homes, organizations for youth at-risk, battered women’s shelters, organizations for financially depressed new immigrants, orphanages etc. Many of our patients are at-risk youth, young women and children from shelters who would not otherwise receive care. In 2016, at the request of the Municipal Welfare Social Services, DVI also began providing needy elderly with free dentures.

The clinic is operated by professional volunteer dentists, from Israel and around the world. The clinic director, pediatric dentist Dr. Roy Petel and the bilingual dental assistants ensure consistent, continuous and compassionate care. Over the past 43+ years of uninterrupted community service, over 5,000 dentists from more than 35 countries have volunteered their time for periods ranging from 1 to 4 weeks.  Each year, volunteer dentists from around the world provide more than 11,000 treatments to children and youth in need.

In conjunction with dental schools and hospitals, DVI has doubled the capacity of its pediatric residency program, growing them to national scale. The clinic contains six fully computerized dental workstations, an X-ray unit, and a new state-of-the-art, in-house, denture laboratory. DVI patient files are digitized to monitor patient outcomes over time. With comprehensive oral health education provided to each patient, DVI continues to witness a decrease in treatment needs among its patient population and fewer severe dental problems in those patients who come for regular check-ups.