Nelson Dentist Joins Bridge2Aid Dental Mission
A dentist from Nelson has helped some of the world’s poorest people, after joining a dental mission organised by charity, Bridge1Aid.
Ian Redfearn, from Dentistry for All in Nelson, took part in a charity trip to Tanzania for the third time. During his trip, he helped to provide training, as well as offering pain relief and routine treatments. He was accompanied by dental nurse, Lorna Milligan.
Ian has already volunteered for Bridge2Aid twice and he said his latest trip was extremely rewarding, but very challenging. He added that Tanzania was a very beautiful country but there is a severe shortage of dentists and people struggle to access even the most basic dental services. At the moment the ratio of dentists to people is 1 to between 350,000 and 500,000, which means that most people miss out on routine dental care and people who require emergency treatment often have to wait for a long time.
In many cases, patients have never seen a dentist before and they have often suffered from tooth pain for several months, even years before they get pain relief.
Bridge2Aid is working to train more rural dental officers and improve access to dental care. Ian is a keen volunteer and he took part in the London Marathon earlier this year and raised £3000. The team at Dentistry for All is looking forward to continuing to support the cause.
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