Tabasamu 2007
The 2007 dental mission to Kenya was a huge success. The team of fourteen U.S. volunteers returned October 1, after ten days of exhausting, yet gratifying and heartwarming accomplishments. We were three dentists, two dental hygienists, and nine lay volunteers trained to assist. It is a trip that takes us to London, then to Nairobi, and then to the small town of Kitale in the countryside by way of a nine hour ride, in a stuffed van, over pot-holed roads. Toss in the jet lag of a seven hour time zone difference, and we are a tired bunch, but a bunch ready to make a difference. There is only one dentist per 270,000 people in Kenya, a statistic that provides enough inspiration on its own. Help is needed desperately. So, tired or not, here we come. We are met by the Kenyan team of volunteers and friends from 2005 and 2006, the first of many uplifting experiences.
"Tabasamu" means "smile" in Swahili, and is the name of the dental mission started by New York Dentist and colleague, Trey Wilson, in 2005. Dr. Rabinowitz joined the mission in 2006, and returned for the 2007 mission. As well, he is a member of the Tabasamu Advisory Group responsible for planning and logistics of the missions in advance. Tabasamu is an evolving mission, learning the needs of the Kenyans and the obstacles to meeting those needs, each year we return. In a nutshell, we are trying to create and elevate the consciousness of these communities regarding the importance of dental health, the positive attributes of dental health, and the ability to achieve dental health.
This year, our clinics ran more smoothly, one in Kitale, and one in neighboring town, Kapenguria. We stock them ourselves with equipment shipped over from the U.S.; dental chairs, compressors, etc. We were better prepared with two years under our belts and with a larger and more experienced U.S. and Kenyan team. With the promise of “free dental care” and the anticipation of our arrival, we have to handle the onslaught of 100-150 patients at each site every day. Being organized helps, but, we are often helpless when the electricity goes out, or when a piece of our equipment fails.
Our treatment is limited. We can provide simple fillings, but not the more complicated dentistry we do here in the States. Yet, we see an enormous amount of decay and decimated teeth. Therefore, and unfortunately, we mostly do extractions. This is often heartbreaking, but for these people who have no access to dental care normally, we are preventing infection, and in some cases, saving lives.
Our greatest accomplishment is what we call “Safari Y Meno”, which means, “Tooth Tours”. We send out two teams to visit two schools a day to perform a puppet show and deliver a program that teaches the children how to take care of their teeth, and the importance of doing so. We reached an estimated 10,000 children this year who each received a free toothbrush! Remember, I said there were many uplifting experiences? Well, the children of Kenya are wonderful. So well behaved and beautiful. To be amongst them, sometimes a thousand at a time, is enormously moving.
Also, this year, we added a pilot "sealant" program for the children. Sealants are a dental material that protect the chewing surfaces of molars from decaying for fifteen years! Kids in the states who receive proper dental care recieve sealants. This is preventative dentistry. This year we developed our ability to treat the children with sealants and tested our system on about ninety kids. Next year we hope to expand this program as mush as possible.
There are probably a hundred stories from the trip, like getting stuck in the mud in our van returning from a Tooth Tour. An unexpected rainstorm does wonders for unpaved red clay roads. Fifty, or so, Kenyans came out of the corn fields to help us and push the van for over three hours until we met a more capable vehicle. Gotta love them!!!
I cannot tell all the stories and all of the details of the mission, but if you wish to know more, please visit the official website of Tabasamu www.searchingforsmiles.net As well, it is the donations that make our efforts possible, if you care to do so via this site. And, for blog from this years trip with daily entries, please visit www.operationtabasamu.blogspot.com. “Stuck in the mud” is “Day 5”. Special thanks to our own staff members, Sattyn and Paola for their help in procuring donations of sealant materials from our dental suppliers.