RAGDV ROTARIAN ACTION GRUP OF DENTAL VOLUNTEERS

October 2013

Spreading smiles

A socially ambitious project by Rotary Club of Aundh of RI District 3131, and The Cooperating Organization Sai Shree Hospital Pune, Maharashtra, India!

Cleft lip and palate is a condition resulting in a gap which occurs

due to lack of fusion of the lip or roof of the mouth during the first

trimester of fetal development (Children’s Craniofacial Association.

Incidence of cleft lip and/or palate is 1 out of 781 births in India, with

female to male ratio of 1:2 for condition of cleft lip & palate in India.

Children from all socio economic strata are affected; however

the incidence is more in poorer socio economic background, probably

due to lack of facilities for prenatal care in addition to others. The impact

of the problem is however multifold in these children due to lack of

understanding of the problem, inadequate information about

management options, lack of finances for complete management. The

management of cleft is a continuous process requiring nutritional and

feeding management, ENT and Audiological management, ongoing

speech and language therapy, dental management, orthodontic

Intervention, secondary surgeries, counseling etc. These services are not

covered in almost any of the programs. In addition, the travel

expenditure to avail these may add to the financial burden; with a loss of

wages in some families. The ideal solution is to have all these services

under one roof; if not the protocol should be followed with the help of a

co-ordinating individual who can contact the specialties as per the

requirement and follow the schedules for the children. However, at such

times a lot of time, manpower and finances are required to co ordinate

the required services.

Hence the dream of “spreading smiles” is to have an ideal set up

– one of its kind with all the required state of art services under one roof,

which will be easily accessible to the general public. The dream is to

reach the poorest of the poor and help them realize that a child with cleft

lip and palate is in reality the “dream child” the family wished to have!

Started in March 2012 this project has so far helped 72 children

back in to the mainstream of society.

Spreading Smiles helps everyone. With a new smile, you can dance for joy. The club and the hospital appeals on a continuing basis to help provide more smiles to more children, by referring to Rotary Aundh, with the cooperating hospital Sai Shree Pune, Maharashtra, India.

“Spreading Smiles” is the “Signature Project” of the Aundh Club and the Sai Shree Hospital.

Before cleft lip and palate surgery

After surgery

Report by Subhash Saraf, member of RAGDV

Contact: subhashsaraf@gmail.com neerajadkar@saishreehospital.org - 09822051881 pushkarwaknis@gmail.com rtnpravinlakhe@gmail.com

RAGDV ROTARIAN ACTION GRUP OF DENTAL VOLUNTEERS

October / 2013

RAGDV ROTARIAN ACTION GRUP OF DENTAL VOLUNTEERS

October / 2013

"St. Mary Theresa" Hospital at Dodi Papase - Ghana

A Rotary Club of D1900 (RC Luedenscheid) decided years ago to realize a project in Ghana. Together with four European partner clubs they annually saved money, matched by RI and enriched by the German authorities the clinic named "Mary Theresa" has been entirely renovated. After the final installation of two new OPT`s the previous rooms for surgery were vacant: I decided to install a dental clinic with two chairs. The background: there is no dentist around "Dodi Papase", the small village which is located in between the Volta-River and the boarder of TOGO (5 km). Approx. 150,000 patients are living in this area called "Volta Region". The idea was transformed to Realization: I was able to use my DG year for fund raising, moreover the excellent contacts to the dental industry, local crafts-men and personal friends facilitated all procedures: I could verify my plans to use only new machines and instruments. My experiences in Nepal, Guatemala and Ghana taught me not to be involved with 3rd-hand machineries! And all decisive machines, tools, instruments were bought twice, knowing from my experiences the possibilities of maintenance, repairs etc. are extremely limited. Meanwhile I know that my decision of dual Investment was absolutely right. Repairs can be done in Germany, the transportation will be handled by volunteers, there are no restrictions concerning the daily treatment plans. Nevertheless, I spend some time to familiarize the local staff with the basics of a dental chair. I purchased those Units in Brazil, they are completely air-driven: there are only limited possibilities of failure: water-air-pipes, pressure valves to regulate compressor`s power, fuses for electricity. Since years this equipment is highly esteemed in third world countries for its liability. The clinic is entirely equipped from the technical point of view. All treatments can be done like in our own offices!

Last January a dental laboratory for acrylics has been installed. Since there is no professional technician, the talented nurse has already adopted the basic procedures for the "production" of dentures. The clinic is running now for 2 years. We still need some time to increase the acceptance of the dental clinic. A lot of the people in that rural area knew nothing about the profession of a dentist. The local staff is now busy acquiring schools, kindergartens etc. to accept first screenings. By that way the acceptance is slowly increasing. The Dental Clinic as a part of the "Mary Theresa" Hospital at Dodi Papase is organized by the "German Rotary Volunteer Doctors". This rotarian substructure is coordinating the particular mission of a volunteer. Volunteers normally stay for 3-4 weeks. For ongoing information see:

www.grvd.de

www.stmarytheresa.getafricaonline.com Personal information from: Dr. Med. Dent. Guenther Koenig, RAGDV member, PDG D1900, RC Lemgo-Sternberg, Germany; Email: drguenterkoenig2@aol.com

Operation Smile's 2013 Smile Gala and Global Summit Celebrates 30 Years of Successes Norfolk, VA (September 30, 2013) – 160 medical directors, board members, medical volunteers, and staff members representing 45 countries are gathered in California to celebrate the culmination of Operation Smile’s 30th anniversary events that kicked off last November with a yearlong series of surgical missions in the Philippines, the site of the charity’s first medical mission in 1982. “This is an opportunity to recognize our medical volunteers, thank our generous donors, celebrate in our successes, and collectively evaluate and advance our surgical standards,” said Operation Smile’s CEO and Co-Founder, Dr. Bill Magee, referring to this week’s west coast activities.

Next on RAGDV newsletter! The November RAGDV newsletter will mainly – and largely – cover the following topics:

1. Be A Volunteer Dentist in Guatemala Rotary Clínica Dental- Río Dulce, Guatemala is looking for volunteer dentists to serve in 2014...

2. Kenya Smiles – 2013 Kenya Smiles is the project of the Clubs of District 5160 and Governor Laura Day...

RAGDV

October / 2013

Honorees Kevin Beggs, Chairman of the Lionsgate Television Group; Randy Sherman, M.D., F.A.C.S., Vice-chair of the Department of Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; and actress Kate Walsh

Harrison Ford

About RAGDV

The Rotarian Action Group of Dental Volunteers operates in accordance with Rotary International policy but is not an agency of, or controlled by Rotary International. Are you a Rotary dental volunteer? Share your experience, and give details as to how others may participate.

RAGDV ROTARIAN ACTION GRUP OF DENTAL VOLUNTEERS

October / 2013

MERCY SHIPS IS ONE OF ROTARY'S NEWEST STRATEGIC PARTNERS OF THE ROTARY FOUNDATION. ROTARY CLUBS AND DISTRICTS CAN APPLY FOR A PACKAGED GRANT THAT WILL ALLOW MEDICAL AND DENTAL PERSONEL TO PARTNER WITH MERCY SHIPS TO PERFORM LIFE CHANGING SURGERIES IN UNDER DEVELOPED PARTS OF THE WORLD.

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Red Deer, Alberta Canada T4R 2N6