Caring with a smile

 
Patong Hospital, the Rotary Club of Patong Beach (RCoPB) and the Newport Sunrise Rotary Club (of California, USA) from April 18 to 22 provided 400 Phuket children with free dental care.

Newport Sunrise Rotary Club brought 50 qualified dentists and dental students, as part of the Ayuda Mission, who are a strategic partner in the club’s Bacchus Doc in a Box programme. The focus of the project was to bring together all the schools, kindergartens, child-care centres and special centres to ensure the children have a high level of health and welfare.

 

Dr Porramatte and his team of dentists and assistants, turned the resources of Patong hospital’s dental clinic towards conducting screening, cleaning, extraction and restoration where required on the children, who were brought on buses by the RCoPB, setting up 16 dental work stations.

Disadvantaged local children and many who live in construction camps watched instructional videos on oral hygiene, the importance of eating healthy food and non-fizzy drinks.

“This was a fantastic example of local and overseas Rotary clubs combining with a Phuket essential facility to enable access to free top-class dental care. Our thanks to the Patong Hospital and to Newport Sunrise for this great initiative,” said Dr Peter Harris, Chairman of the RCoPB Project Services Committee.

The project intends to return in January and work with the hospital to run clinics in the local Patong schools. They plan to bring back supplies and train local volunteers to apply a fluoride varnish on students’ teeth and to help teachers educate students.