MERCY SHIPS DENTAL CLINICS SOUTH AFRICA: Oct – Nov 2010

Rovers on the winding roads to Bambanani to set up a one day clinic

( Me bottom left) Dental Team overlooking vast rolling hills of Bambanani
Arms were raised in jubilation and shouts of joy filled the air in the little Zulu settlement of Bambanini, when the Mercy Ships Dental Team passed through their gates for a day-long clinic. More than 125 people from the surrounding area had assembled, hoping for the opportunity to have a dentist examine their teeth and relieve the nagging pain they had been living with.

                               Bambanani mountain top
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4) Local store on the mountain tops
Although the Africa Mercy is in dry dock in Durban, the off-ship Dental Program continues around the rural areas of Kwa Zulu Natal, working in cooperation with the Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Health. The team is bringing dental care and hygiene instruction to local hospitals and many remote Zulu villages that have no access to such care.

(top right) Me taking photos of the dental hygiene being taught to the crowds
Crowds waiting to be seen at the dental clinic in Bambanani

For the duration of the Mercy Ships Dental program in the area, the hospitals have agreed to suspend charge. Hospitals in Appelsbosch, Montebello, Imbahlenhle, and Bethesda are the four area hospitals involved. Nine area clinics will be held before the program is completed.
Ms. NgcoboThokozani, Operational Manager of the Bambanini Clinic, said personal funds were used to buy time to ‘get the word out’ that the dental team was coming. Word of mouth passed quickly throughout the villages in the hills and valleys of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Gwala Zama said she was told of the clinic by a neighbor. “I live a long way away, but I came by the shortcut,” meaning she walked cross country, up and down the deep canyons, instead of by the long roads around them.

(Cntr) Ms. NgcoboThokozani, Operational Manager of the Bambanini Clinic
The Dental Team extracting teeth from patients in Bambanani
“They came at 5 a.m. with the trucks,” said Ms. Thokozani. “Most of them are unemployed and they got here by asking the truck drivers for a lift. It will take time to go back.”

Dr Dag Tvedt-Mercy Ships Chief Dental Officer injects freezing into a patient’s mouth before tooth extraction
Many had teeth that were decayed and rotted, causing constant pain. The Mercy Ships dentists extracted the decayed teeth and gave the grateful patients medication for the pain.
Very often, people aren’t aware that they can have fillings to save teeth. They just wait for them to decay and have them pulled.

(L-R) Dr. Natasha Rampershad and Dr Dag Tvedt-MS Chief Dental Officer, offers support & both exchange different procedures at Appelsbosch Clinic
Dr. Natasha Rampershad, a young dentist from Durban, is volunteering her dental skills for a year with the Department of Health, working at hospitals and clinics to improve dental health in areas where there is little access to dental care. At Appelsbosch Hospital, Dr. Tvedt worked with her, offering support and exchanging different procedures. “We can all learn from each other,” Dr. Rampershad noted.


In a local elementary school built on the edge of a canyon, over 120 students were packed into a classroom to hear Patient Life Coach Comfort Yeboah give dental hygiene instruction.

Many of the children had never even seen a toothbrush. She explained the importance of having healthy teeth, how bacteria can decay them, and how good tooth care can improve overall health. She gave explicit directions for proper tooth brushing, using a model of the human mouth and a giant tooth brush.
When she introduced ‘Lucy’, an animal hand puppet with human teeth, the children broke into gales of laughter. But Lucy helped to drive home the message that teeth must be cared for correctly at least twice a day.


Mercy Ships Dental Team at the top of rural village enroute to Bambanani. (Me 2nd from left)


















“Working with Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Health has been a privilege,” Dr. Tvedt said. “The province has great challenges, but it seems they do their very best to provide everybody with health services. The officials we worked with made it easy for our dental team to reach out to those in need. I thank them.”
 
Sieh Moore-MS dental team, comforts a patient before extraction.