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Volunteer Dentistry
Myanmar November 2013
This past November I joined a group from Kansai to do charity dentistry for the children in schools and orphanages in Myanmar. It was the most grueling dentistry I have ever done, but also the most rewarding. Our group was led by Dr. Ginichi Takeda from Mie Prefecture, and was comprised of eight dentists and two dental hygienists. This shows us with the head of the Wachet Hospital near Mandalay, who is a Buddhist monk. We worked here on the first three days.
Festival Day
The day we arrived in Mandalay was the first day of the full moon festival. These kids were doing the Burmese equivalent of trick-or-treat. They stop vehicles and demand money for passage. Five or ten cents was adequate, and everyone seemed to enjoy the custom.
The Hospital Dental Clinic
The facilities in the dental clinic at the hospital were quite good by Burmese standards. But I still had to use a head lamp that I bought before going to Myanmar.
Local Dentists
We were aided in Mandalay by a group of
very enthusiastic Burmese dentists, who provided us with
considerable help. They were a pleasure to work with. In the back
row is my wife Mieko, who joined us for two days.
School Dental Examination
We examined several hundred children at a school, and gave the ones with tooth decay decay instructions to come to the hospital clinic the next day for treatment. But the next day there was a festival, and very few showed up to see the dentist.
Waiting to See the Dentist
The children seemed to line up without end. There were several hundred kids in the school.
Fluoride Treatment
Every child got a toothbrush and fluoride treatment.
The Full Moon Festival
We wondered what it was about the festival that was so interesting that the children would rather go there than come to our clinic. So we went to see. It certainly was more interesting than a dental clinic.
Serving Lunch at the Children's Home
We arrived at this orphanage for girls just in time to set up and have lunch. We had the honor of serving the children, who were all girls. We got to eat the same food, and it was very good.
Meal Time
This is how the children enjoy their lunch. A school lunch room is usually a pretty noisy place. However, the children are expected to not talk and to concentrate on the food they are eating. This is a facet of Buddhist teaching.
Setting Up the Clinic
Our work was run like a military operation. It was amazing how fast we could set up and treat patients, using the instruments and medicines that we brought and whatever was available in the facilities where we worked.
Treatment Attire
Examining and treating several hundred children in one day was quite a task. Treatment was done on a wooden bench. You might wonder why I am doing dentistry barefooted. Since we were in a monastery, we had to remove all footwear.
The Dormitory
There were about 500 girls in this children’s home run by the nuns. Some were orphans, but most had parents who were just too poor to take care of their children. So they sent them to live at the monastery, where they received food and education.
The School
The monastery also runs a school on the grounds that is attended by children from the village as well as the girls in the children’s home.
Good Bye
As we left, the children lined up and sang a song for us. I have never had patients showing such gratitude.
Model Dentist
The children in this orphanage got a good laugh when their big brother used me as a model for demonstrating how to brush teeth.
Working Conditions
This is another orphanage in Yangon. This photo shows how we worked. We had no electricity other than the battery operated dental drills. The aluminum buckets on the table had clean water, the ones on the floor were dirty water.
Down on the Floor
This is a monastery school in Yangon. It had no electricity or running water. All treatment was done on a straw mat. This was the extent of the facilities that we had: a table and a straw mat. The children would rinse and spit out the window. But we managed to treat two hundred children in about two hours.
Waiting Room
The little children look a bit apprehensive. They are such darlings.
Happy Dentist
Whenever possible we enlisted the help of the older children. One boy is holding a light while I do the treatment. Two boys waiting for treatment eagerly look on. It was extremely hot, probably 30 degrees centigrade. You might wonder why I look so happy. But I really was enjoying my work.
Treatment Posture
My colleague is showing a treatment posture that we never learned in dental school. Well, we just did the best we could with what we had to work with. The kids were very happy.
The Dentists
This couple are both prominent dentists in Mandalay. I am dressed in a traditional wrap-around skirt called a longyi, which is very common men’s wear in Myanmar. I had never worn a skirt before. It was quite comfortable.
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