Dental health at Levolosi hospital in Arusha, Tanzania

Dear generous donors,


My name is Wisam Azar a new dentist in the field, as some of you know I’ve been volunteering in Arusha, Tanzania for more than two months now, at a dental department of Levolosi Health Center. My friend Tala joined me for two weeks, and we decided to get started on raising money to help the public clinic we are volunteering in.

Unfortunately in the clinic the oral healthcare system is severely lacking proper supplies and instruments. It is unfortunate as we got to see the clever dentists that are armed with so much knowledge and experience, yet they don’t have the proper tools to implement those skills.

During our volunteering at the Levolosi Hospital Dental Clinic we made note of the most basic clinical necessities. The presence of those supplies would highly impact the quality of the dental care that is provided and would significantly increase the treatment options, and most importantly the safety of both the patients and clinical staff.

OUR FUNDRAISER GOAL IS GOING TO COVER

Dental Supplies:	Equipment:	Safety Measures:
Filling materials	Dental instruments (burs, examination kit, extraction kit…)	Eye washing station
Impression material	Autoclave (sterilization machine)	Gloves
Autoclave bags	Apex locator (to make root canal treatment possible)	Masks
Suction tips	Hand pieces for the dental unit
Cotton rolls	Light cure
Root canal fillings & solutions	Trolly
Local anesthesia
Needles
Surgical blades

Stories from our stay at the Levolosi Dental Clinic:

We truly understood the gravity of the lack of the materials when a women came into the clinic with a cavitated tooth that was restorable, but like many of the other patients, she couldn’t afford the appropriate treatment which is a root canal treatment.

The patient chose to do an extraction, and no x-ray is present to confirm the suspicions.

The combination of the force applied, and lack of surgical suction, caused some blood to splash onto the doctor’s eyes. The assisting doctor had to rush out of the clinic to grab a rapid HIV test, while the doctor was waiting without washing out her eyes. Thankfully the patient tested HIV- negative, but this is a lucky example that we hope wouldn’t be repeated when they have the correct supplies.

Another patient came into the clinic with main complaint of esthetics, she was feeling insecure about the way her teeth looked. Upon examination, it was found that she had what is commonly called “Arusha Teeth” that is a distinctive phenomenon which is a product of Arusha’s water fluoridation. The two treatment options were conservative micro abrasion and invasive treatment of composite facing. Since the clinic doesn’t have the micro abrasion kit, the patient was only left with the option of the composite facing. Which will likely be entering this patient into what is called the “restorative cycle” that would be much more costly to the patient down the line, and since many can’t afford to follow up she will likely end up extracting her teeth.

Clinical Example of Arusha Teeth

About the Clinic:

There’s two dental units, one of them is not working, but they use it just for examinations and extractions. The working dental unit has some technical issues, the air pressure is insufficient, the suction does not work, and the sink does not have running water.

Then comes the issues of the dental and surgical instruments, not only are they insufficient in number but they are also dull.

The sterilization and personal protection equipment is a great area of concern. The old autoclave in the clinic doesn’t allow for quick and adequate sterilization of the instruments. While the dentists themselves do not have sufficient protection measures (gloves and masks) which puts them at a greater risk of contracting diseases.

These inconveniences increase the probability of complications and chair-side time, so if the dentists were provided with the proper instruments, it would help them give at least the minimum suitable treatment option.

The funding will first be for the list given above, but any extra money raised would be put towards reducing the costs for the patients treatment.

AND ALSO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE BY SENDING SUPPLIES OR EQUIPMENTS PLEASE CONTACT

ASANTE SANA! (Thank you in Swahili)