Programs - Health Care Collaborative
Dental
Oral hygiene as a priority
Our integrated dental education and treatment plan contains several important aspects: school program, seniors and special needs program, health committee training, as well as consultations, in partnership with the healthcare collaborative during clinic days.
Focus on prevention
Dental decay, one of the most common health problems in the world, especially in developing countries, is almost completely preventable. SELF’s Dental program focuses on prevention of dental disease with our oral hygiene school education program and preventative treatments including fluoride and sealants. Enlisting community volunteers as partners helps us ensure sustainability and optimal oral health in the villages where we work.
Partnership is key
As with all of our programs and activities with SELF, partnerships help create healthy and sustainable change. We partner with community volunteers to learn and teach dental education. Partnership with parents is important to the longevity of the education of the schoolchildren. We also do not provide dental treatments for children without their parent’s explicit consent.
Health of the individual leads to health of the community
Community surveys allow us to more closely examine and guide our dental treatments, while taking into account variables such as geography, economics, cultural and health characteristics of each village. Identification and definition of local problems inform a clear and consistent action plan, to be able to help solve these problems in a sustainable way. Using the epidemiological CPO index, we can catalogue and track the health of permanent dentition and deciduous dentition of our community members.
You can make a difference
SELF helps hundreds of children and families, and they depend on the generosity of supporters like you. Each and every donation makes a difference.