www.mddus.com


Hari Lal treats patients at a clinic in Malindi District Hospital (opposite page and left) and raises awareness of oral health among local schoolchildren


pain, numb, fi lling and bite together. Mornings were like a conveyor belt of patients but it was rewarding knowing they were leaving with the source of the pain removed.


Outreach The afternoons in the clinic were quieter so I arranged to promote dental health in the community with Steve. We visited three local schools – Sir Ali Bin Salim, Malindi HGM and Malindi Central Primary school – speaking to


DENTAL VOLUNTEERING


• Gracepatt Ecotours Kenya The tour and travel company operate medical/dental missions and internship programmes. They are looking for general volunteers as well as clinicians holding medical/dental qualifi cations. www.gracepattecotourskenya.org


• Bridge2Aid This UK dental charity was set up in 2002 and works to improve dental care and access to pain relief for the people of Tanzania. They have trained more than 160 local health workers in emergency dentistry and continue to train a further 50 per year. Through their Dental Volunteer Programme, qualifi ed dental professionals travel to Tanzania to pass on their skills. www.bridge2aid.org/b2a/


• Mercy Ships


The UK charity operates a number of hospital ships, staff ed by a volunteer crew, serving more than 150 ports in developing nations around the world. Their dental programme welcomes volunteers to treat dental and oral diseases and provide education and training for some of the world’s most deprived populations. www. mercyships.org.uk/dental


Other useful links include: www.christianreliefuganda.org www.smiletrain.org www.dentaid.org www.dentalprojectperu.org www.kausaywasi.org www.fi tfortravel.nhs.uk


packed classes of 70 and 150 pupils, plus a whole school of 1,000 pupils aged 10 years or older. With the aid of the blackboard,


demonstration models, posters and Steve’s language skills we covered topics including tooth structure, diet, brushing, fl uoride, caries, periodontal disease and hand hygiene both in English and Swahili. The pupils seemed keen to learn and we quizzed them at the end, off ering prizes and samples for those answering correctly.


It can be diffi cult to know how eff ective these kinds of visits are, particularly as many villagers struggle to aff ord even basic dental supplies, but I was pleased to fi nd out that several of the pupils we had spoken to visited Malindi District Hospital to get their teeth checked. During the school visits, community health workers listened and took notes with the aim of continuing to deliver dental health education to other schools. I am happy to report that two more schools have been visited by these dental health promoters in Malindi since I returned to the UK. Looking back on it, the whole experience


was a real challenge and took me out of my comfort zone of working in a fully equipped dental practice with patients who can understand English. Spending a month in such conditions has also really opened my eyes to the problems of government-run dentistry in Kenya and I would urge other dentists and dental students to consider volunteering. I have made some cracking new friends for life and had the privilege of helping patients in great need of treatment as well as helping to educate schoolchildren about the importance of prevention. The experience defi nitely enhanced my clinical skills and has given me a glimpse of the other face of dentistry.


- With thanks to Patrick and Grace Karimi


Hari Lal works as a dentist in Dedridge Dental Centre, Livingstone


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