Hey guys,

So as some of you may know, I have planned to visit Vietnam for 2 weeks for a project launched by the East Meets West Dental Centre (EMWD). I will be supporting the dental team in a city practice for a week in Da Nang, before carrying out treatment myself on children below the poverty line in an outreach setting as seen in the cover picture.

The treatment I will be carrying out can range from simple preventative treatment such as giving oral hygiene instructions and dietary advice to children and adults, all the way through to carrying out non surgical management of gum disease and restoring decayed teeth, all with limited resources.

EMWD started in Da Nang in 1996 - one of the main areas affected by the pre 1975 American-Vietnam war. It was set up with the aim of providing free dental care to disadvantaged children.

From 1996 to 2012 EMWD raised all funds from international volunteers through charity activities. As fundraising didn’t always work out, they have since set up an exciting business model, where by they charge a minor fee to those who can afford treatment in the inner city to fund the outreach programme in the rural areas. This relies on dental volunteers to sustain the charity’s mission.

In Vietnam, 70% of the 20-29 age group and 96% of the 60+ age group has missing teeth due to decay, approximately 30% of these still have active tooth decay. In other rural areas, the total figure for this is 85%.

I will be helping combat these statistics by setting up mobile dental clinics in rural areas of Vietnam where an estimated 100-150 patients will visit each day to receive dental treatment.

Participating in a volunteer programme abroad has always been an aspiration of mine and to have the opportunity to do it in a dental environment suits me perfectly. Overall, I have set myself a target of £1000 to cover the costs of the project in Vietnam. Thank you for reading and I hope you can donate.