Henry Schein Dental UK and the International College of Dentists’ Global Visionary Fund partner with Grace Academy to advance access to care in Zambia
Henry Schein Dental UK has underlined its continuous commitment to oral health by donating health care products to the Grace Academy in Ndola, Zambia, in Spring 2018.
Grace Academy is a boarding school for 170 orphaned children from birth to adolescence who have experienced extreme poverty, malnutrition, and disease.
The dental outreach was led by British Columbia, Canada-based dentists, Bill Tyler and Gloria Tyler, along with 21 volunteer health care professionals that included seven dentists, one denturist, and 13 auxiliary volunteers.
Addressing oral health needs
The team addressed the oral health needs of the school age children, the care givers, school staff, and people in need from the local community. The team provided hundreds of restorations, extractions, dentures, endodontics, preventative care, scaling, and – most important – personalised oral hygiene instructions to every child and caregivers.
‘Periodontal disease was extreme amongst those never having dental care before, even in young age. For the children of the orphanage, dental care as never been an option as survival was priority,’ said Gloria Tyler. ‘The need was endless, the smiles so rewarding and I am grateful to have been able to contribute to this mission thanks to the generous support of the International College of Dentists (ICD) Global Visionary Fund (GVF) and Henry Schein.’
Raising awareness
Henry Schein’s donation is an initiative of Henry Schein Cares, the company’s global corporate social responsibility programme.
‘This outreach has helped to enhance the oral health of these children while also raising awareness about the importance of oral hygiene as a necessary element for total health,’ said Simon Gambold, Henry Schein’s vice president marketing EMEA dental group.
‘The programme complements our mission to increase access to oral care, to build capacity, and to support dental professionals in the provision of desperately needed treatment and preventive care. We are therefore happy to be able to support this mission through our partnership with the International College of Dentists.’
Links
Henry Schein Cares http://helpinghealthhappen.org/
Henry Schein www.henryschein.com
