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Tanzania with B2A

At the beginning of June 2008 I was fortunate to be accepted to take part in Bridge2Aid's (B2A) Dental Volunteer Programme (DVP). Being part of a team of 10 volunteers, 6 Dental Surgeons and 4 Dental Nurses, we trained 6 Rural Clinical Officers (RCOs).
 
They are best placed to deliver basic dental services to the large rural populations of the region. They are responsible for the provision of all basic medical services in thousands of small dispensaries and health centres across Tanzania.
 
If you need a vaccination, a wound to be stitched, a baby to be delivered and pretty much anything else - the RCO is your nearest answer. Their current training programme does not contain any dental aspect.

In partnership with the regional government, B2A have developed a 10 day intensive training course in Urgent Dental Treatment for Rural Clinical Officers. The course comprises two elements:

1) A 4 day residential course funded by B2A. RCOs receive theoretical instruction from their District Dental Officer.

2) A six day intensive practical course, based in rural villages, where RCOs are trained one-to-one by volunteer UK dentists travelling to the region as part of the Dental Volunteer Programme.

Please have a look at the pictures of my DVP experience.
 
There are also links to some short 3 minute videos
  • The first is about my 2 weeks in Mwanza teaching surgery
  • The second is a video about the work Bridge2Aid are performing

Dave's DVP Experience

Bridge2Aid Video

Dentist's Briefing
Dentist's Briefing

Dentist's Briefing 2
Dentists Left to Right: Maria, Barry, Katherine, Neil, Me, Paul

Dental Nurses, they made surgery a lot easier
Dental Nurses Left to Right: Annette, Emma, Laura, Nicola

Early Start with a 2 hr Drive to the Rural Clinic
Early Start with a 2 hr Drive to the Rural Clinic

The Health Centre
The Health Centre

Setting up the Dental Surgeries
Setting up the Dental Surgeries

The Dental Chair
The Dental Chair

The Dental Equipment
The Dental Equipment

My Dental Surgery
My Dental Surgery

A Full Waiting Room
A Full Waiting Room, with people queuing out the door, some had queued since 5am

Warming up before clinic
Warming up before clinic

More Photos

Briefing the RCOs before we start
Briefing the Rural Clinicial Officers before we start

The clinic would have 6 chairs running at the same
The clinic would have 6 chairs running at the same time

Patients were examined for DMF
Patients were examined for the number of Decayed, Missing, and Filled teeth

Chairside teaching
Chairside teaching

Even in Tanzania, balloon modelling is a great aid
Even in Tanzania, balloon modelling is a great aid to treatment

Lunch in the shade
Lunch in the shade. NB: I'll never eat an egg sandwich again!

Everybody was Kung Fu fighting
Everybody was Kung Fu fighting; those kids were fast a lightning

To find out more about the work of Bridge2Aid or to make a Donation, click on the link below

www.bridge2aid.org

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