The complete surgeries that include chairs, suction units, compressors, autoclaves and X-ray equipment are now installed in three state dental clinics in the region of Nisporeni. The equipment was donated by practices in the UK and reconditioned by Dentaid volunteers before being transported across Europe. Dentaid has also sent eight autoclaves to Moldovan dental clinics and, in May, a team of volunteer dental professionals visited the country to provide oral health education, fluoride treatments and a tooth brushing programme.
Nestled between Ukraine and Romania, Moldova is the poorest country in Europe. State dentists are paid about 150 euros per month and although there are private dental services, they are too expensive for many people. In Nisporeni, the eight dental offices had equipment dating back to the 1960s with ripped chairs, broken equipment, no suction or lights and ancient X-rays machines. Dentaid has been working with Moldovan dentists Stan Cozulea and Tanya Svet to replace the equipment and support their work providing dental services for the poorest families and disabled people in Nisporeni.
“We are very happy to have Dentaid as a partner and the equipment is very helpful,” said Tanya Svet. We are now able to provide better quality treatment for our patients. Thanks to carts and illumination systems we can work more ergonomically and, with the new equipment, we can do better fittings and restorations. Our patients are less scared and our dental offices look better so they attract more patients. It’s a whole new level for our work.”
Thanks to the generosity of Whitewash Laboratories’ Brush for a Brush Scheme, Dentaid sends thousands of toothbrushes and paste to support a tooth brushing programme in Moldova. The poorest families – who earn less than 40 euros a month – receive free brushes and paste every three months. The brushes are also delivered to care homes for severely disabled people.
During their week-long volunteering trip to Moldova, the Dentaid team visited the state orphanage at Orhei, which is home to 204 disabled men and boys; nurseries and schools in poor communities; a school for children with learning disabilities; and small ‘move on’ homes for disabled people who previously lived in state-run institutions. They saw 812 people for oral health instruction and provided fluoride treatments for 711 children.
“It’s so exciting to see the new dental equipment installed in the three dental offices in Nisporeni after lots of hard work and fundraising,” said Dentaid’s overseas projects manager, Jacqueline James. “We are very grateful to everyone who helped to make this happen. Thanks to their hard work our Moldovan partners now have surgeries and X-ray equipment that allows them to offer a wider range of treatments to their patients in surgeries that are fit for purpose.”
To read blogs about Dentaid’s volunteering trip to Moldova visit https://dentaid.org/dentaid-blogs/