Work the World Dental Outreach Programme 2009 found that 76% of children in rural Kerala need dental treatment, so are offering one student the chance to take part in the 2010 programme for free!
Treating patients India 2009
The project continues in July 2010 and to boost awareness, Work the World are offering one fourth or fifth year dentistry student or professional the opportunity to win a two week placement in India with the Dental Outreach team.
The 2010 India dental outreach programme will send students to rural villages across Kerala to treat local children in makeshift dental clinics. Working under the supervision of qualified local dentists, phase one will see the team running oral hygiene workshops to educate the children in caring for their teeth as well as setting up an intensive screening process. All children with dental problems are then referred to the local hospital in which the project is based, with phase two dedicated to providing free dental treatment for each child. With students performing as much of the work as possible, this is a fantastic way for dentistry students to gain on-the-job experience as well as making a real contribution to the local community and having the experience of a lifetime.
2009 dentistry student Clare commented “After three days we had screened 500 children and referred 300 for treatment at the local hospital. The majority of children had never experienced any dental care and although they never complained of any pain, sometimes they would open their mouths and their teeth would be horrendous. I was able to gain experience in many types of treatment, all supervised by Dr Manu and Dr Smitha, and identify advanced cases of dental decay not really seen in the UK. It boosted my confidence and opened my eyes to dental care in rural India”
Teaching kids to brush their teeth
Oral health is a growing problem in India. In a multicentric study on oral health, the World Health Organisation in India claimed dental caries, oral cancer, periodontal conditions and bleeding gums are all conditions that have become more prevalent in recent years. The report concludes “the increase found in the present study could be explained as due to urbanisation and shift towards more refined food over the past decade…… it is evident that oral health care seeking behaviour was very low; people rarely visited the Dentist and only in the event of pain.”
Managing Director Dave Brown said, “We created the Dental Outreach Programme to give our elective students a chance to travel to rural areas, get more hands on experience and really make a difference to the huge numbers of Indian people that desperately need treatment. Now in year three the project has proved itself sustainable and hugely beneficial to the local community – last year alone over 600 people were treated and hundreds more learnt how to look after their teeth. Winning this competition would be an amazing opportunity for someone to use and develop their skills whilst really contributing to the local villages we visit”
With strong partnerships with universities, overseas hospitals and clinics, government authorities and NGOs, the Dental Outreach Programme in India is part of a range of electives and placements offered in Africa, Asia and South America. To win the placement in India students must create a short video clip talking about the benefits of taking an elective overseas. The deadline for the competition is 31st January 2010 and the placement is available from 11th – 24th July.
To read more about the competition click here. To read more about the Dental Outreach Programme, click here.
Tags: competition, Dental Elective, Dental Outreach Programme, dentistry, India, Kerala, Work the World
With the dental outreach projects we try and treat as many people in the community as we can. Unfortunately, there are so many villages without access to dental care that we provide essential work for children first. That does not mean that adults don’t get treated – certainly some projects have included restoration work for adults. In terms of restoration work on children, the projects are run under supervision of qualified dentists and all our students follow their advice, decision and guidance. The aim is to extend treatment to as many people as possible and as funds are limited, providing expensive and unneccessary treatment is unlikely to be recommended by the dentists in charge.
We have some interesting case studies written by student dentists if anyone is keen to find out more about how the projects work. Check out http://www.worktheworld.co.uk/elective-placement-case-studies/
It doesn’t make sense to construct a major restoration for a tooth that will come out naturally in a short time, nor is it cost effective to fill a primary tooth that will soon be lost. The rule of thumb is not to fill a cavity if the tooth will be lost before the cavity starts to hurt.