Manor College’s Dental Health Center Equipment Finds New Purpose in Kenya

Four chairs were donated to the Benjamin Wellness Center in Kenya.

Dr. Michele Gladstone poses with one of four dental chairs that will be delivered to Kenya.

As part of a new renovation of Manor College’s Dental Health Center, the institution has donated several dental chairs to the Benjamin Wellness Center in Gatamaiyu, Kenya.

“This is absolutely life changing,” said Dr. Michele Gladstone, a supervisory clinical instructor at Manor’s Dental Health Center. “This equipment gives access to dental care to people who have never had it – to save teeth, not just yank them.”

The Benjamin Wellness Center is a non-profit clinic based in Columbia, Pa. that operates a medical clinic in Kenya. Dr. Gladstone has taken 15 trips to Kenya since volunteering with the organization in 2012.

When the improvements to the Dental Health Center began earlier this summer, Dr. Gladstone approached Manor College President Dr. Jonathan Peri about donating the equipment.

“It is a win-win for us to be able to provide for those in Kenya to expand their journey towards positive dental health,” Dr. Peri said.

Jaime Simpson, Director of the Dental Health Center, added, “We are extremely humble and appreciative for the opportunity to help others through this process. This aligns with Manor’s mission and its great to see this come to fruition.

The equipment was picked up from Manor College on August 6, 2026 and will be sent to Africa before Dr. Gladstone’s next trip in 2027.

Dr. Gladstone stressed the importance of the Benjamin Wellness Center in Kenya and the effect it has on those who they treat.

She recalled a trip to Kenya in 2012, when a woman who needed all of her teeth to be extracted came to the clinic. She begged Dr. Gladstone to perform the operation, but all Dr. Gladstone could do was direct her towards the hospital.

A few years later, the woman came back to the clinic – she took Dr. Gladstone’s advice, had her teeth removed and needed a set of dentures. Dr. Gladstone gladly made them for her. The woman comes by the clinic each year now to say hello.

“It’s an unheard of thing for them to have dental care,” Dr. Gladstone said. “People come from miles, walking to come see us. The appreciation we get there is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”