For Steve Booth, managing director at Straumann; Patrick Allen, managing director at Henry Schein Dental; Bob Newsome, commercial director at Dentisan and Alison Speak, HR director at Oasis Dental Care, the trip is likely to be an eye opening, sobering experience.
Steve Booth, one of the industry champions, said, “I am excited at the prospect of seeing what has been achieved by Bridge2Aid and although I’m sure it will be a humbling and quite challenging experience, I am also looking forward to meeting some of the patients who have been helped so much by the provision of basic dental care made possible through the support of UK dentistry.”
During the five day trip, the group will see some of Bridge2Aid’s vital work in relieving the constant, debilitating pain, from which so many of the local community suffer. Bridge2Aid’s training programme is a fundamental tenet of their philosophy and is designed to equip local people with the knowledge and resources by which they can offer pain relief and basic preventive care. The two week training programme is one of 12 being run this year in isolated rural locations in Tanzania. The one being visited is in Kasamwa and during the tour the industry representatives will see for themselves how rural clinical officers are taught by volunteer dentists how to extract decayed and painful teeth, how to manage infection, basic preventive oral health education and how to diagnose and recognise complicated cases which need to be referred.
Another day will be spent meeting some of the local government officials with whom Bridge2Aid works so closely on the ground and who are so supportive of the charity. Finally, there will be an opportunity to see the Hope Dental Centre in Mwanza. Suppliers across the UK dental industry helped Bridge2Aid to set up Hope and all profits made by this modern dental clinic directly fund the work of Bridge2Aid.
Patrick Allen, managing director at Henry Schein Dental, is making his third trip to Tanzania but this will be the first time he has seen the training programme; he said, “I think it is important to see the sustainable difference that the training is making in Tanzania. I am privileged to be able to bear witness as to how well the funds raised by the dental profession and industry are being used to provide basic dentistry for people who previously had no access to care.”
To see more about the trip visit www.bridge2aid.org