Bringing smiles to the Philippines

Four Dentaid volunteers joined teams from Team Rubicon and Serve On for the trip to Umapad Elementary school in Cebu. Many of the pupils at the school live on or near the city’s dump site and have to scavenge to help provide for their families. The area is also affected by earthquakes and recent tremors have damaged buildings and infrastructure.

The Dentaid team of Mark Inman, Rob Witton, Ruth Potterton and Joy Baker treated 383 children, including many who had been suffering long-term dental pain and needed extractions. They also applied fluoride varnish to 185 children’s teeth and gave oral health education presentations to 532 youngsters. Sadly, many of the children had severe decay and long queues formed to see the dental team as access to dental care in the area is very limited.

The team also visited Cebu University to meet students learning English and went to a dental school to establish links with a new generation of dentists in the Philippines.