It is amazing how fast time has flown by during this amazing week and the picture above sums up how we all feel – absolutely shattered but we are all delighted with the week we have had and we are sad that it is over.
During the week the DAN team of 10 dentists worked on over 200 children aged from 5 to 16. We treated children with disabilities, medical problems, learning difficulties and orphaned children from local schools and orphanages. Naturally many of these young patients were nervous having dental treatment carried out as most of them had never received any dental treatment before. The team coped very well and was supported by local dentists who had donated their clinics and support staff for the week to DAN. We carried out a wide variety of essential dental treatment including fillings, scalings, extractions and most importantly delivered preventative advice which was complimented by the oral health packs.
At the Qalqilyah clinic we had great fun with the children and even managed to find time during our short lunch breaks to play football with them. In addition to dental treatment in the clinics we also managed to secure an operating list under general anaesthetic for those children requiring multiple extractions. This was kindly organised by a maxillofacial surgeon at the Rafidiah Hospital.