Dental check-up on the flat roof
in front of my room.
For today's program we had prepared the kids in many talks and had a poster on the wall of my room for the last two weeks: Free dental check-up for all our children.
Dental check-up on the flat roof
in front of my room.
The helpful man who always gives the tetanus injections to our children, as a health worker had some years experience of working in a dental clinic, and his daughter is going to be a dentist. Together they work on a research project on the influence of social environment, eating habits and other factors on the health of the teeth of children. They examined groups of children in towns and in villages, in cheap governmental and expensive private schools - and they wanted as a "mixed group" those children that come to my place every day.
Extensive interviews.
They had brought two helpers for the quite extensive interviews; I had taken care of additional chairs and a stove to keep the water boiling for disinfection of the tools. All the older kids had their tasks assigned and everything went pleasingly quiet and disciplined.
Two of our youth greeted all arriving kids and put their names on a list that was used to call them one by one for their interview. After the general questions (name, age, living quarters and type of school) there were detailed questions about eating and other habits: Vegetarian or not? How many meals a day? Fish or meat how many times a week or per month? Whether and how often they drink milk or eat milk products? How many sweets they eat and whether they smoke? Whether they clean their teeth, and if so, how often? By brush or by finger? With tooth paste, powder or just water? Etc. etc.
Detailed examination of the teeth.
One of our youth collected these questionnaires and took care that the children were called one by one at the next post: There the maps in the forms were filled after scrutinous examination of the teeth: Which teeth were present; milk-teeth or adult's; which ones were damaged or missing, had to be filled or extracted.
Desinfecting the instruments
in boiling water.
Some of the older kids (I had equipped them with disposable gloves) and some younger helpers were busy all the time to keep the water boiling on the kerosene stove, collect the used mirrors, forceps, tweezers and other instruments, and to return those that had been boiled long enough.
Very small fillings were done on the spot, and during the day we had nearly a dozen extractions - mainly of very lose or too old milk teeth; some with and some without anaesthetic injection.
And again the "older" kids (which is not necessarily regarded to their age; but may mean those children that have been with us for many years) helped a lot, took care of the very young ones, comforted them, held their spitting bowl or returned them to the doctor when they had lost their cotton swab...
Even for a child of four the dentist
found the right tune and
immediately gained his confidence.
Everything was thoroughly
examined ...
... and painstakingly noted down.
In less than two weeks I will receive the computerised results of all this and will have detailed information on the dental condition of nearly 60 of our children. I will know who needs scaling or larger fillings and I will make the appointments at a regular dentist's (and I will have to pay for it like anybody else).
At last we had a demonstration on how to properly clean the teeth and use the brush. Then the team went after nearly four hours; the doctors had yet another appointment. - Most of the kids had come - some of them too late. I had expected around 80; nearly 60 had their check-up today.
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Last updated: 17.11.2002