My trip to Arusha Tanzania
Natalie Wood (Dentistry)

I was so excited about my three week elective placement in Tanzania. I had never been to Africa before and the unique opportunity to experience dentistry in a developing country was just too good to miss out on.

I flew to Kilimanjaro airport via Nairobi and there I met Freddy, one of the Work the World team, who took me to the House in Arusha. First impressions - Huge!! I met all the other students who were staying at the house who were all so friendly and I soon settled in and started to feel quite at home.

The next morning we had an in depth induction with Baptista which was great as everything about our placement was explained to us in detail, I soon realised that there was nothing to worry about as Work the World had taken care of everything. We went into Arusha town and Freddy and Emanuel showed us where all the amenities were such as the supermarket, internet, banks and post office etc. This was great, Arusha is such a vibrant town and all the people were so friendly to us.

We started at SDA dental clinic the next day. I was a little nervous as I wasn't quite sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised when I walked through the gates at the SDA headquarters. It was really lovely, small and quaint but with a homely feel to it. I was introduced to Dr Tekle who made me feel so welcome and then we got straight to work.

It was a busy little clinic with patients arriving on foot from miles away without an appointment because they were in pain. I was allowed to get involved right from the start; S & Ps, Amalgam and composite restorations, composite veneers and of course lots and lots of extractions!!

The dental procedures followed were on the whole the same as those that we practice in the UK, although materials and instruments weren't always used according to their intended purpose. It was more a case of using whatever is available to you at the time. However, the clinic was quite well equipped and it even had an x-ray machine.

One day I went to a local school to provide OHE to children aged between 5 and 18. It was a great experience and the children were so attentive and interested in what I had to say. After the talks, we examined 470 children. It was a long, hard days work but so enjoyable.

The fact that Work the World places so many students in one house means that you can't help but have a great social life whilst you are on your elective. I met some great people and made some friends for life during my stay. I have absolutely no regrets about choosing Work the World to help organise my elective for me, they made it really easy and I had the most fantastic time.