First aid for teeth

Project Number: 9051

Situation: Yemen is a beautiful country in the Arabian Peninsula, with stunning mountain views and unique architectural buildings. All the same, the population is poor and health care is insufficient. Most people have not received enough education concerning health and hygiene.

One great medical problem is the lack of dental care. People’s eating habits are changing, many people have taken up smoking, and there is lack of knowledge concerning dental health in many developing countries. This causes many people to suffer from toothaches, which then of course also affects their eating and their overall health and wellbeing. In Yemen, another cause of poor dental health is that almost 80% of the adult population chews Khat. Because of the pesticides used in growing the plant, chewing Khat highly increases the risk of oral cancer.

Project Description: Partner Aid International has perceived the problem of deficient dental health in Yemen and has therefore started a dental project to help people improve their quality of life. Our dentists treat the people suffering from toothache and also teach people how to take care of their teeth to prevent further dental problems. We also conducted a school screening, in order to discover what the state of health among school children is, to plan a further medical project.

Furthermore, village dentists are professionally trained to treat their village community. Once they have concluded their studies, they receive a certificate. This ensures that they have a means of income, and at the same time they are of benefit to their communities.

PAI has also started a platform for likeminded dentists in developed countries. Several dentists finance a colleague who then treats people in a developing country.