Tepe Jan Hexamer, Tepe Lawrence J
Dentists in Private Practice, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
Front Public Health. 2017 Aug 2;5:119. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2017.00119. eCollection 2017.
Each year many dentists embark on mission trips to foreign countries. This article shares what one group learned in their journey over the course of 17 years to bring oral health to a rural community in Honduras. The group began by delivering acute dental care, but soon realized that this treatment would never change the status of oral health in the community. Year by year they learned what worked and what did not. A school-based dental prevention program was initiated using proven preventive techniques to demonstrate to the community that prevention of oral disease was possible. As of 2015, the school-based program had grown to over 10 schools and nearly 1,000 children had benefited from this program. Children in the program received all necessary treatments for the prevention and treatment of dental caries. As importantly, they and their families learned to understand how to be responsible for their own dental needs. In conclusion, it is possible to effect long-term change in a developing country by focusing on prevention of oral problems rather than focusing on the extraction hopeless teeth. The good intentions, time, and financial resources of volunteers can be put to best use by first learning about the needs and wants of a particular community. The authors recommend that volunteers partner with local health-care providers and research what other organizations are currently doing in their country of interest.
每年都有许多牙医踏上前往外国的宣教之旅。本文分享了一个团队在17年的历程中所学到的经验，他们致力于为洪都拉斯的一个农村社区带来口腔健康。该团队起初提供急性牙科护理，但很快意识到这种治疗方式永远无法改变该社区的口腔健康状况。年复一年，他们了解到了哪些方法有效，哪些无效。于是启动了一项以学校为基础的牙科预防项目，运用经过验证的预防技术向社区证明预防口腔疾病是可行的。截至2015年，以学校为基础的项目已扩展到10多所学校，近1000名儿童受益于该项目。参与该项目的儿童接受了预防和治疗龋齿所需的一切治疗。同样重要的是，他们及其家人学会了如何为自己的口腔需求负责。总之，通过关注口腔问题的预防而非专注于拔除无可救药的牙齿，在发展中国家实现长期改变是有可能的。通过首先了解特定社区的需求和愿望，志愿者的善意、时间和财力能够得到最佳利用。作者建议志愿者与当地医疗保健提供者合作，并研究其他组织目前在他们感兴趣的国家正在开展的工作。
