Smile, please!

On my recent trip to Uganda I went to Kabalagala Community Academy. Whilst I was there, so many things about the children struck me—one of them were their smiles.

Many of these children were under the age of seven, and had a mouth full of brown and rotting teeth. The ones that I noticed were the ones whose teeth were missing, discoloured or damaged. But as far as I know, the children who were fortunate enough to still have a bright white smile may have been having rotten teeth at the back.

Most of the children had very little sugar in their diet, and most of them did not have toothbrushes and toothpaste at home. One child whose parents tried to encourage him to brush his teeth was given soap to put on his toothbrush! The issue seemed to be both a financial and an educational one.

I mentioned my concerns in an I-HUG committee meeting and within a week I-HUG have been inundated with excellent quality children’s toothbrushes (which are hard to find in Uganda) and, toothpaste. With these supplies and the commitment from the school to teach and promote oral hygiene within the school day much will be achieved to helping prevent further decay.

I am wondering now if someone knows a dentist who would like to take a trip to Uganda……….
-ruth