Manipal, European dental team bring smiles on Ladakh people's faces

The dental interns and faculty from the Manipal College of Dental Sciences in collaboration with European Dental Students’ Association (EDSA) and Wisdomtooth, a dental volunteer organisation from USA, successfully conducted a major dental outreach programme for the second consecutive year under the banner of ‘Amchi programme’ in Ladakh. The programme was held from August 2 to 14.

Poor oral hygiene

The project was started in 2012. In 2012, the medical team went to eastern Ladakh, whereas this time they selected the western parts of the region i.e. Kargil, Padum  and the district capital of Leh. This year the project was conducted by Dr Kanika Sabhlok and Dr Mahipal Singh Rathore under the guidance of Dr Shashidhar Acharya, a Public Health Dentist who is also a founding volunteer of the project from 2012.

Acharya said the oral hygiene is very poor in Ladakh and they use local herbs. Most important is that the region remains frozen for nearly six months and Ladakhis have to boil ice for water. He added they use lots of medicine to get rid of pain. However, there are no dentists and no health care. The team aimed at educating the people over prevention and oral hygiene, he said.

Dentists from 11 nations

Speaking to media persons, Dr Kanika Sabhlok said it was after 10 months of planning, 39 volunteers have decided to reach out to Ladakh’s remotest areas early this month.

Apart from Manipal University, the team comprised students and doctors from 10 nations, viz, UK, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Spain, Canada, Romania, Kenya and Japan. Remote and sparsely populated areas of Ladakh were chosen due to their poor access to health services and relative lack of health care, she said.

Dr Mahipal Singh Rathore said direct dental and preventative care, medical screening and acute medical care was provided as the team investigated the treatment needs of the population there.  In the 12-day project, the multidisciplinary team provided health screening for over 1500 people and treatment for 1000 individuals. A total of five junior and high schools were outreached during the mission, he added.

This time the team was able to implement new initiatives such as the ‘Amchi Smiles’ initiative, a health and hygiene education programme. The mission also trained Amchi nuns in last June followed by training of a new batch during the current outreach. They were trained in oral health education and basic intervention.

The foreign delegation of volunteers was headed by Dr Andrew Bartram (UK) and Dr Elnaz Khodabandehlou (Sweden).

Dr Keiko Saito joined the team from Okayama University, Japan on behalf of Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA). Saito said it is a great opportunity and great experience.

‘Amchi’ means ‘community medical servants’ in Ladakhi, who are selflessly dedicated to support humanitarian projects for the welfare of the community.

The Amchi programme is aimed at educating and increasing the skills of local healthcare providers, allowing them to provide basic dental care in Ladakh. The programme also provides a platform for budding dental professionals to experience community involvement and outreach work at an early period in their professional lives.