Toothache can kill

Hosted by the High Commissioner Peter Kallaghe and featuring VIP guest Lord Peter Mandelson – a supporter of the charity’s work – B2A celebrated 10 years of partnership with the Tanzanian Government, and called for support to expand its dental training programme, which has so far provided access to emergency treatment for over 3 million people in Tanzania.

A new campaign around the theme “What if?” was announced – looking into the effects of untreated dental pain – and B2A chief executive, Mark Topley, talked of the charity’s ambition to expand into other parts of Africa (Rwanda already has a small project).

“Dental caries (tooth decay) is a scourge that remains the world’s most common, yet often unacknowledged, disease,” said Mark.

“A huge number of working days are lost to an ultimately treatable disease, with billions of people suffering around the world from untreated tooth decay.

“In fact, 80 per cent of people will suffer from dental caries during their lifetime,” he said.