We call it "Dental Week", but the truth is, this incredible team has fine-tuned this undertaking like pros and were done after THREE very long days! This is the SEVENTH time that we have brought in a dental team to do their work in the Dekpor Basic School library hall.
Three dentists and one dental assistant made the trek from Sogakope. Linda, Edzi, Helen and a handful of others helped with photos, organising, calling parents when necessary, and keeping students where they needed to be.
698 students were screened and took part in educational sessions. Keep in mind that a mere 7 years ago, no one in Dekpor had even heard of a dentist. Dental care is a relatively new thing and it takes time for everyone to understand the benefits to good oral hygiene.
- Each class attends the educational component.
- Each student is screened (see the pics where the dentists are using the flashlight on their personal phones).
- 192 students needed treatment of some sort (whether it was scaling, an extraction, medication for infections) We had an influx of new students to the school and this was their first time ever being seen by a dentist--hopefully next year the number of treatments will be lower.
- Every student is given a toothbrush and toothpaste.
As you can imagine, this is a rather costly initiative, but we KNOW it is worth it! It is fully funded by the proceeds from our annual Ghana Nourish Minds fundraiser where volunteers sign up to run, walk, or bike to raise money.
We are so grateful to the following participants and their friends who sponsored them!
