A team of six medical and coordinating volunteers set off to give free dental care to the awaiting beneficiaries. As is the case with most rural communities, affordable and accessible dental care is not an option, and in some cases we've found that many are not even aware of dentists or oral hygiene. This lack of awareness was clearly evident as the volunteer dentists and assistants sat their first patient down. To offer a long-lasting solution to those receiving dental care, a lecture in daily oral hygiene habits was taught and translated or signed to the group, if they were deaf. As a final touch, toothbrushes and toothpaste were given to the programmes' participants, along with the instructions that they should be used daily to avoid another encounter with the now much-respected dentist.

Aside from the obvious fact that many gain access to dental care from these projects, we have found them very effective for meeting a group of individuals' specific needs. What is more, due to their smaller size, generating the sponsorship for them is not an insurmountable obstacle but a very realistic prospect for potential donors. Taking into account the availability of enthusiastic and willing medical volunteers registered with Family Care, in the future we hope to further expand our projects to other medical fields such as ophthalmology and primary healthcare.

Here are some of the statistics that give an idea of the scope of these programmes

• Total Patients: 157
• Extractions: 123
• Scaling, Polishing, and Fillings: 165