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A Giraffe, a Toothbrush, and a Dental Student

By Sarah Mathie, UK

After three and a half weeks of visiting the Centre of Hope I had become quite used to teach the Sudanese refugee children. However this particular lesson required a different type of preparation. That morning I drew, coloured, folded, cut and cellotaped a full set of pearly white teeth onto the toothless grin of the giraffe puppet, and counted out 50 toothbrushes to bring to the school.

As a final year dental student in Scotland, I’m very aware of the importance of Oral Health in maintaining overall health and well-being. However, for the majority of people living in poverty this is not a priority, and their dentition is often neglected. Few of these refugees are allowed to work due to the long and arduous refugee application process, and many parents struggle to provide for their families.

Hungry children have to survive on perhaps only one carbohydrate-rich meal per day and cheap sugary snacks. Fruit and vegetables are a forgotten luxury. The lack of money, balanced diet, dentists and health education proves to be a big problem for the dental health of the community.

My hope is that in providing a simple lesson, the kids might develop healthy oral habits which preserve a disease-free, pain-free, lasting dentition. 

Amir* with a newly adapted puppet, toothbrushes, diagrams and songs, our team arrived at the school and set up for the lesson. After a warm-up of “heads, shoulders, knees and teeth”, I quizzed the children (kindly translated by their teacher) on their experience of tooth decay and tooth-brushing.

A handful of children raised their hands, indicating they had experience toothache in the past, and I wondered how many others were suffering from earlier stages of the disease. Using pictures, I explained to them the dangers of sugar causing tooth decay, and about the importance of brushing for two minutes every morning and night.

After a demonstration using Mr Giraffe puppet, desperate volunteers came to the front to show me their best effort at brushing. I encouraged them to follow a path left to right, brushing all three surfaces of each tooth and surrounding gums. They were so excited to participate, especially when they were given a sticker and their own new toothbrush!

The lesson ended with a song and dance about “brush, brush, brushing” which sent the kids into fits of laughter as they copied the actions holding their new gift.

My favourite moment of the day came after the lesson when I walked one of the girls, Grace, home. We entered her family’s small apartment and without saying a word, she went straight into the bathroom and loaded her toothbrush with toothpaste to clean her teeth.

I felt so happy that she had learned something so simple, yet so important, and was putting it into practice straight away! It gave me a glimmer of hope that I had somehow made a difference in the lives of these sweet Sudanese children.