Dental students from the University of Birmingham travelled to northern India to deliver essential health services to people with limited access to basic healthcare facilities. Led by Dr Upen Patel and Dr Ketan Patel, and dental students from the School of Dentistry at Birmingham. They worked with the charity Satya Samaj UK, led by Mr Vinod Lodhia, to provide medical and dental aid to the underprivileged people of the Rishikesh and Himalayan region of India. The activity of the group of students and Dr Upen Patel was covered by a number of Indian media outlets including Business Standard India, The New Indian Express and The Economic Times.
The group worked with local doctors and dentists to look after more than 500 adults and children at a special five-day dental, diabetes and asthma health camp. The dental volunteers provided an oral health check and showed each patient how to clean their teeth and gums effectively to prevent disease.
In addition to an oral health checks, the camp hosted a diabetes and asthma screening facility, to aid diagnosis and provide lifestyle advice to help control these conditions and improve the quality of these people’s lives. Satya Samaj UK has provided health camps for the past 15 years. Its last camp in April 2018 was a huge success with £15,000 raised. Over 300 adults and 200 children received free dental check-ups and dental preventative treatments.
Each patient was given a toothbrush, toothpaste, brushing instructions and diet advice. Antibiotics, dental fillings and extractions were provided to those in need of treatment.
The pictorial record of the students journey and back in March 2019 is shown in the blog.
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