The Ghana team

Arriving at the Bay View Lodge accommodation, set right on the lakeside, I met the 10 adventurous student dentists. They were all in high spirits and eager to start the treatment the following day having spent the first day visiting the partnership hospital in Kumasi and meeting the staff team and clinical supervisors. They had also had their first meeting with the primary school children they would be treating at the Adwafo RC Primary. All of the students were surpised by the warmth of the welcome they received from both teachers and students.

Treating patients

Speaking with the students it was apparent they had immediately bonded as a group and had already enjoyed interaction with the local people during the welcome ceremony with the village chief, who had welcomed them as honoured guests. By the end of the first night  students were eagerly lapping up their first language lesson our Project Leader was providing. Within no time the students were confidently greeting each other and instructing each other to “open your mouth, please”.

Working in the classroom

The busy day had obviously given the students quite an appetite as the local Ghana dinner was devoured by students, much to Dorkas, our caterers delight!

The plan for the outreach was to visit 13 villages in total during the two week project and treat children from over 28 primary schools. Logistically, as with all outreach projects, it was difficult to forecast how many people we would treat a day but it was hoped that all the students would take well to the rural setting and the task ahead of them with enthusiasm. The students certainly did themselves proud on their first full day of work. The ten students split themselves into two teams, splitting between a screening and education team and a treatment team. In the first day alone five schools in two different villages were screened, with over 4000 children screened, giving us over a hundred referrals of which 87 were treated.

There are never enough dental chairs

The small Abono primary school were the treatment clinic was located for the first week of the project was buzzing with activity. Our students worked extremely efficiently under the constant supportive supervision of Dr Frema, our senior clinical supervisor from our partnership hospital. Working in partnership with the region’s largest hospital allowed us unparalled access to essential equipment that is otherwise impossible to get hold of in Ghana.

Dr Frema commented at the end of the first day that she was surprised at the number of children that had been treated and the dedication and high level of clinical skills the students had shown in what were basic conditions and working with limited resources and equipment.

A well earned break

Clinical experience is obviously a big attraction for students participating in an outreach project and the students were involved in extractions, fillings and scaling from day one. The screening team also learnt how to communicate effectively with children who spoke very limited English and the educational team entertained and educated classroom after classroom over excited and receptive children on how to maintain good oral health.

Due to the very rural location of the project the daily transport was always by Toyota 4×4, something our students relished each day. The excitement of off-roading to small schools were very few foreigners had ever visited only added to the excitement and satisfaction students gained from knowing they were making a real positive impact on the local communities.

For me, as Project co-ordinator, it was great to see the group of ten students supporting each other and having such a memorable time together. On their weekend off the group travelled to the city of Kumasi and explored the ancient historic sites of the Ashanti people, shopped for local cloth and handicrafts and even managed time to watch an international football match between Ghana and Nigeria – a grudge match to rival that of England playing Germany!

So happy to see us

As the programme draws to a close the final figures stand at over 4000 children screened, with just under 1000 treated. As the students now head off to various parts of Ghana to enjoy the stunning beaches, national parks and vibrant cities, they can all be extremely proud of the fantastic and lasting impact they have made on the area. The mood of the local people can be summed up by one old lady who took the time to explain to me “We thank God that these ten dental students have come to our village to help us. We could never afford to travel to the city and have treatment so this has been a small miracle for us here”.

1. 

   Work the World run yearly Dental Outreach Projects

   Watch your diet – You’ve heard it before – a good diet will do wonders for you. What you might not have realised is the effect of food on your teeth.  High fibre foods not only stimulate saliva (which fights bacteria) it gives your teeth a good scrubbing as you chew. Tofu, leafy greens, beans, whole grains and poultry contain vitamins A, C and D and along with dairy products, plenty of  calcium.

2. Drink water – rinsing your teeth is really important as it washes away all the foods and sugary drinks that are left in the mouth.
3. Enjoy a cup of tea – Green and black tea contain polyphenols that interact with the bacteria that causes plaque. They either kill or supress bacteria which prevents them from growing or producing attacking acids.
4. Snack on nuts – they have so many vitamins and minerals in they make perfect snacks for healthy mouths.
5. Avoid fizzy drinks and juices - Some bottles of pop contain as much sugar as a king – sized chocolate bar. Even diet drinks, despite being sweetened, contain tooth-eroding acids. And fruit juices…. if you think about the fact lemon juice is as a cleaning or bleaching agent, you get a good idea of what could be going on with your teeth! If you can’t avoid them, use a straw.

6. 

   Students give an oral hygiene class

   Don’t dry out -  If you’ve had a few beers or are taking medication that leaves you with a dry mouth, watch out – this is very damaging to your gums.

7. Say no to the sweet bowl - The big problem is how long your teeth are exposed to sugar. With sticky sweets or dried fruit the sugar clings to your teeth and attacks. Sugars should stay in your mouth as briefly as possible.
8. Beware the hidden sugars – White breads, chips and pasta easily get lodged in the teeth. They may not taste sugary but the starch converts to sugar straight away.
9. Avoid crunch time - The only thing you want to crunch is your food. Ice, popcorn and hard sweets are all culprits for breaking teeth.
10. Brush, brush, brush! – Brushing is recommended after every meal. If you have had something acidic, rinse with water first as tooth enamel is vulnerable after a full on acid attack.

Keep an eye on the Work the World website to see how we’re getting on with the Dental Outreach Projects. We have programmes running this year in Nepal and Ghana.

For more dentistry do’s and don’ts, read Dentistry’s blog on the top 7 best and worst foods.

Some of the kids

This year’s Dental Outreach Programme in Ghana took place in Jacobu within the Ashanti region of Ghana. It was about an hour’s drive south of Kumasi, which is the second largest city in Ghana and famous for its markets. The project spanned 3 weeks and consisted of seven 4th year dental students as well as (and for the first time ever for us) 5 dental hygienists. All the participants were studying or had finished studying at Cork and were therefore full of Irish vigour and energy!

The project was designed to provide free screenings and treatments to the school children of the local area. We had a bus and each day it would take us to the schools where the screenings were carried out and then bring those children that had been referred to the local St Peters Hospital for treatment. The screening process was immense! Just short of 4,500 children were screened during the project. We were privileged to have the dental hygienists during the screening process, they worked to provide education (of course with translators!) to all of those children that were screened by the dental students. This will enable the good work that took place to carry on after we left so that the children understand the importance of effective oral cleaning.

Screenings

Just short of 1,000 children were treated during the 3 weeks, the participants on the programme worked extremely well together to ensure that this work ran as smoothly as possible. Each day someone would volunteer to play the role of Matron and be responsible for providing assistance when needed to those carrying out the treatment work and to grab supplies and tools. The dental hygienists were predominantly responsible for carrying the scaling work whilst the dental students took care of the extractions and fillings. We were fortunate to be working with Dr Amoateng, who is the head dental consultant at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi as well as his two dental assistants Hanna and Felicia as they provided excellent clinical supervision and assistance.

Outside of the clinical work we all got to do some exploring of Ghana in our spare time. The dental students managed to get to Mole National Park, which is no mean feat due to the distance involved, although they weren’t impressed that their driver took a wrong turn and an 8 hour journey turned into 11 hours! The dental hygienists managed to make it to the coast and also to stay at a hotel with a swimming pool in Kumasi. I myself visited Lake Bosumtwi and had an afternoon on a hammock gazing out over the still waters. Kumasi was definitely the place to buy any present for people back at home.

Oral health workshop

The food was prepared by a caterer “Aunty Dokas”, who we recruited specifically for the project and who has worked with us before with our permanent programme in Takoradi. She provided continental food like spaghetti bolognese, chicken curries and a even some BBQ’s. We also requested to try some local dishes, some of which were more popular than others! “Red Red”, which is fried plantain, spices and a bean and tomato sauce was lovely.

It was an intense and thoroughly rewarding experience. Some other highlights that come to mind from the project were a local TV station coming over and interviewing us about the project, we later found out it was on TV 6 days later! The dental hygienists met Mr P.V Obeng, one of the most senior ranking government officials in Ghana and spending sometime having drinks with him! Also, going to mass in a local church was amazing- the Ghanaians love to sing and dance and we were welcomed with open arms. Finally, some of the girls managed to get invited to be in a Nigerian music video and were filmed for it, although I’ll need to wait to see it out live before I truly believe it as I wasn’t there at that point and the girls might be pulling my leg!

Work the World banners went up through Bandipur

After months of planning it’s good to see your hard work pay off. There was a huge turnout, happy faces and smiles everywhere….two weeks of thorough dental checkup and treatments in Bandipur.

Back track a week, there were nerves of tension shooting across my mind…. How the project was going to be? What if this happens? What if that happens? Lots of questions until the final showdown! No matter how confident you are or may seem, this is something that happens to organisers of any event. It’s like putting the strings of a guitar together… with some fine tuning… you’re set to strum the beat and set the crowd on.

Student's set up for treatments

After hours of waiting for the driver to ferry the supplies to Bandipur we finally did reach the villlage… I met the first bunch of students in our dental outreach team who had come in from Kathmandu, and together we carried the kit and started setting up the clinic.

From the very first day there was team bonding and a good team spirit. Our project leaders Prajwol and Bom made the team feel at home and just got it going.

When we first thought of Dental Outreach, Bandipur was the village that first came to my mind. And who would better describe Bandipur than our very first Dental Outreach Team… who came, who saw and conquered!

The days in Bandipur would start with a hearty breakfast at The Old Inn followed by a busy day at the clinic. Most of the evenings after the clinic the students wanted to get out into the mountains – so a nice walk around the surrounding hills was on the list for many. Some preferred lounging at the Inn playing carom or just sitting on the terrace trying to finish the books they started ages ago. Then plates would be filled with wholesome meals, over which conversations would be held about the day, about the world cup …and anything else…..until they would finally call it a day!

A winning team of workers!

Dr. Dhurba from Western Regional Hospital was supervising the project and any problem that arose would be attended/assisted immediately. Most of the times it was simple extraction and fillings but there were cases that were very strange, something that you’d never come across. The patients were a mix of adults from the community and children from the village. They were patients with patience, who waited for hours to be screened. Most of them came to know about the outreach through a friend (word of mouth) who came to know from different means of advertisement. Patient’s were screened, treated (extraction and filling) and given free medication accordingly.

We’re set for the next project now in Dhampus and Birethanti from the 12^th of July and Pachhbhaiya from August 2^nd.

To find out more about our dental outreach project check out the link. Also, keep an eye on the home page as the stats are getting updated daily!

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 31^st January 2010 and the placement is available from 11^th – 24^th July.

To read more about the competition click here. To read more about the Dental Outreach Programme, click here.

Abby mans the Work the World stand

We were greeted at the airport by Ioana and Ciprian our team leaders and were taken back to the hotel to meet everyone and rest up before the Official Opening Ceremony.  During the ceremony we were treated to a Thriller-esque intro to the IADS committee plus a virtual tour around the new dental clinic at the university.  It was immediately obvious that we were amongst a wonderful group of friends as the students here attend these events every year.

The next morning I was very kindly given the opportunity to present our new outreach projects to the committee.  They were enthusiastically received and many students can’t wait to get involved next summer. We also took part in an international exchange fair where we met the wonderful Prof. Dr. Holger Jetsch from the University of Leipzig, Germany who was also talking.  The General Assembly and also the NEO- meeting of IADS, in fact all of it was such a success.

Abby and Omar make new friends

As well as being a fantastic opportunity for students to share energy and ideas towards their profession and the organisation, it was also a chance for everyone to really let their hair down and enjoy the social side of the programme.  This involved the legendary and compulsory karaoke competition as well as plenty of dining , drinking and dancing throughout the week!

I would like to thank all of the IADS family, students and professionals alike who greeted us so warmly – I’m really excited about this partnership that’s happening, it’ always such a pleasure to work with students from around the world!

Click here to find out more about our dental electives or our dental outreach programmes, or give us a call!

Boys playing in India

Although Work the World send out gap year students on specific healthcare placements, and the Times article was focusing on companies that send volunteers to work on charitable projects, the message throughout the article about what students should be careful of when booking overseas trips to work in other communities, applies equally to us.

When Dave and Omar set up Work the World it was partly because they had met so many students in similar situations to those mentioned in the article. They wanted to start a company that actually did what it said on the tin and provided gap year students with an amazing experience, whilst at the same time creating a sustainable project in an overseas base that provided work for locals and was of benefit to the community.

Several gappers in the article talked of experiences where things had gone wrong overseas and they had been given no support at all. One girl even ended up in the small claims court after she was refused a refund after losing faith in her company when they re booked her onto a trip she had specifically requested not to be placed on. It’s so important that if are going to take a gap year you choose a company that provides support both before you go and during your trip. Work the World have a UK team that help you arrange visas, work with you to tailor your placement to match your interests, provide information and answer any queries you may have. Once you arrive our overseas teams take over and between the programme manager, house staff and placement supervisor, you have someone that can support you in every aspect of your trip.

Watching the world go by

There were a lot of complaints about the high price tag of some of these trips, particularly when there was no evidence of those monies raised on the actual project. Unfortunately there are some companies that direct a large chunk of money back into the companies pocket, often because of staff and marketing costs. These will always be a cost to companies, but should not absorb all of your trip payment. At Work the World  we’ve always been very honest about how we use funds – we use a chunk of your money to pay the hospitals and clinics that you will be working with, recommending that those monies should filter through to your placement supervisors. We also pay our overseas support team a good wage because of the great job that we want to ensure they stay with us and continue to do.

The other big point that was mentioned was sustainability. I have heard many reports of Westerners put to work on completely pointless projects – building corrugated iron huts for students to study in climates that are so hot even standing near the walls of one will burn your skin. Just the place to make kids sit down and work?! One of the article comments spoke of re-painting the same hut each time a new student group flew out – a complete waste of volunteer resource. Work the World do not market themselves as a volunteer company, we place students into the hospitals and clinics so that they can learn and gain experience. We provide them with all the information about their placement before they go and once they arrive it is up to them to make themselves useful to their placement supervisors and bring benefit to their community. We’ve had some great feedback from students that have spent time with patients and used skills picked up in med school to identify things that had been missed by the busy doctors and nurses. We’ve also arranged some pioneering dental outreach projects that bring dental treatment out to rural communities and provide a free referral service – something you can’t arrange yourself. They continue to be of enormous benefit.

Overall the report highlighted that if students choose to book through a company rather than go alone, they must look into the companies that they are planning to book through. Find out where the money goes, who they employ overseas, whether the project is of benefit to the community and how much support will there be if things go wrong. You can be sure of the fact that if you do, it will be a better experience for everyone involved.

Read the Times article or find out more information about our placements to find out more.

A student gets screened

The project was set up at the Angel’s School in Poovar, a small catholic coastal village about 20km from Trivandrum city in the state of Kerala. Poovar has a beautiful beach and a population of 30,000 people – a village by Indian standards! There are a handful of exclusive resorts in the area but the village remains relatively unaffected by tourism and is very peaceful.

The project consisted of seven dentistry students from Bristol and Newcastle Uni who were all taking their electives overseas. On our first day we received a wonderful reception led by the school manager, with speeches delivered by the Panchayat President (village leader), Dr Manu (our project supervisor) and Father Wilfred (from the local church). By the afternoon our temporary screening clinic was set up in one of the classrooms and in the first 3 days we managed to screen 400 schoolchildren. Of those,  360 were referred for treatment at NIMS Hospital. Quite an achievement!

A Dental Outreach Programme can be quite full on and at the start of the project many of the students seemed a little unsure of themselves. You could see they were rushing around and wanting to ask Dr Manu lots of questions. He is a great supervisor though and understood that the students needed to find their feet. And it worked – as the project progressed I really noticed a difference in everyone. By the second week everyone was relaxed and confident, working well as a team and collaborating with Dr Manu on treatment plans. A few of them were great at settling the kids too (there were some tears!), managing to make dentistry appear fun for them!

Follow up treatment at NIMS Hospital

During the project, we also opened up the screening to the general public and screened 224 members of the community, age ranging from 3 to 70 years old! Community screening was interesting as we never quite knew who will walk through the door. At one point a bus full of local students turned up from a nearby government school -they’d seen our adverts and thought they would come along!

Overall we were only able to refer 114 to NIMS Hospital where the project fee was funding free dental treatments using modern facilities. We would have liked to have referred all 224, but had to focus on emergencies and pain relief due to time constraints and I think this really affected the students. It was heartbreaking to turn people away and a real lesson into healthcare in India.  

The Dental Outreach is an amazing opportunity to learn about Indian culture. You get a unique insight into village life, working with local Indian dentists, seeing how pain is managed in a developing country, overcoming communication barriers and getting loads of hands on experience. It also shows how unpredictable  India can be -  one day we were all prepared but treatments had to stop because a government order came through for a school census at Angel’s school, our base. All was not lost though as we went elephant riding instead - proof that dental electives are not all hard work!

 We are really grateful for Dr Manu’s commitment and overseeing the whole project. We were also very lucky to have help from so many local volunteers, who acted as translators.  I would also like to thank Sister Siby, the principal of Angel’s School and Dr Smitha from NIMS Hospital, as well as all the dentistry students who participated on this project. Last but not least, I have to thank our very own Jayakumar, my amazing Work the World colleague and a friend in India for making the first project a real success.

The second Dental Outreach Project starting on 27^th July will return to Angel’s School to screen the rest of the school and offer follow up treatments.

If you want to read more about our India programme or about the Dental Electives or Dental Outreach Programmes that we offer, follow the links or contact us for more information.