Dental Therapist Trading Dumbarton for Tanzania to Provide Dental Care
A dental therapist from Dumbarton has embarked on a mercy mission to Tanzania to help provide some of the world’s poorest communities with basic dental care and train people to carry out basic procedures, such as tooth extraction.
Elaine Warner has joined more than 20 people to volunteer in Tanzania, where the ratio of dentists to patients is around 1:800,000.
The group will be working in the Bukoba area of the country. Speaking to the Lennox Herald earlier this week, Elaine said that trip is something she has always wanted to do; she stressed the importance of the work of the charity, outlining the very poor situation people are faced with; those with dental problems travel for days in pain to see a specialist who is qualified to treat them.
The focus of the trip will be training clinical officers to carry out basic dental work, so that more people are able to get the care they need within their own community; therefore, the aim is not to go and carry out numerous extractions and then leave, as this would only provide short-term relief.
Elaine, who works at Drumchapel and Springburn medical centres, said that she was excited about the trip, although she admitted that she was unsure of what to expect. Elaine has funded the trip herself but she is also hoping to raise money for the charity Bridge2Aid.
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