A dental hygienist from Innisfail was one of 12 dental professionals from North America who spent 16 days in Rwanda teaching natives more skills of the industry.
Misty Reberger, who works at Dr. Mitch Champney's clinic in Innisfail and Olds Family Dental Clinic, spent her first week in the capital, teaching dental therapists more about hygiene practice at Kagili Health Institute (KHI). She then travelled to Gitarma, in rural Rwanda, mentoring the team in their clinic.
"I was nervous at first," said Reberger who was teaching about her career for the first time to a group of therapists. "But they were so appreciative and really wanted to learn."
Reberger heard about the project, Adopt an African Clinic, when working in Three Hills with Dr. Drew Cahoon.
Cahoon, who has since retired from his practice, started the organization which is designed to assist the KHI train dental professionals and increase their oral health-care capacity. In 2011, the organization brought over equipment such as dental chairs to the institute as well as to six rural hospitals.
Students at KHI have taken a three-year course and have an understanding of the theory of each aspect of prevention but have never had the equipment, instruments or means to sustain the services, Reberger explained.
"Dentistry is new there. There aren't professionals there. So this program has started to train for basic extraction, fillings and now periodontal disease and hygiene."
She said periodontal disease is more of a concern to patients in Rwanda than tooth decay because there isn't the same exposure to sugar and refined foods as there is in North America.
She spent a week at the clinic where she said it was treated like triage.
"It was open from 7 in the morning to 5 at night. People would come and get assessed and sit outside on benches. Some people would show up at 7 and stay there until 4:30 before they were seen," she said of the lines of people who would come for treatment.
"The clinics use natural lighting and there are no suctions," she said of some of the differences. "Some have chairs at the clinics which recline, which is amazing for the dentists because it really saves their backs."
She said part of the mandate of the dental therapists who are involved in the project, is they must run outreach programs at the schools.
"There are very few elderly people in Rwanda because of the genocide. The population is something like 60 per cent children. So running an outreach is important," she said of going into the schools, explaining they focus on decay screening and oral hygiene. "They have to do 10 schools a month."
Reberger said she wants to go back and continue helping the program. She's focused on helping one dental therapist become a dentist.
"It's a good way for me to be able to help. Through him, he can help thousands of people so I can offer my support through him."
Adopt an African Clinic's goal is to bring clinics from 98 per cent extraction to 65 per cent restorative and prevention by 2013. To learn more about the organization, visit www.adaoptanafricanclinic.org.
