We currently concentrate our efforts in Hefei City, The
Provincial capital of Anhui Province。The
City has a population of 4+ million people. Anhui is one of the
poorest provinces in the country, a significant portion of the
population of Hefei City consists of laborers and peasants who
have not had a formal education. In addition, funds are not
available from the government to train dental professionals
on updated prevention and efficient dental techniques. As a result, dental
education is substandard in the area which has led to poor
dental health across the region.To
achieve our goal we have a training center and sliding scale
dental clinic located in the
heart of the city. Through this clinic we serve the needy as well as fee paying patients which helps us leverage
every donated dollar.
Educating the public
- prevention is the key to lifelong dental health. We work with local government authorities and
universities to give seminars to the public about dental care
and prevention. Our seminars help dispel long-held myths about dental health which
are prevalent amongst the Hefei City residents.
While dental techniques and training are still several
generations behind what is available in the United States,
popular attitude and knowledge about dental health within the
Hefei population is even farther behind. For instance, many
Chinese residents of Hefei City still believe that if their
mouth hurts it's because they ate food that was too spicy instead of it being a
warning that they need to see a dentist. In
addition, many residents feel that losing all of one's teeth
when they get older is inevitable so
most don't bother to take proper dental preventive measures such
as brushing and flossing.
Educating the dentists and health professionals in the area.
Dental knowledge, techniques and training are several
generations behind that is available in the United States. Our
team of professors and specialists such as family dentists, hygienists, prosthodontists,
and endodontists provide seminars
and hands-on training for the resident dentists that they can't
get anywhere else.
Understanding the culture.
Our volunteer team is uniquely
qualified to help the residents of Hefei City. We are natives of
the country and understand the cultural and
financial barriers to dental health that exist. We also have had
many years experience
working with the local Chinese government to help us impact change in the region. In addition, partnering with local
people help us achieve
our goals and also achieve skill transfer, which results in the
locals ‘owning’ the program.
