Isolated in the Indus River Valley, high on the Himalayas, Leh serves as the capital of Ladakh, India. Originally from Mongolia, Ladakhis settled the valley over a thousand years ago, farming barley in the marginally fertile soil. Here lies Lamdon School. Founded in 1973 by the locally created and administered Lamdon Social Welfare Society, the school has grown from its original 27 students and one teacher to 1200 with 800 additional students in 10 remote sites. The school consistently produces highly educated students, and places a strong emphasis on maintaining local Ladakhi and Buddhist culture. Many students are full-time boarders from poor families, attending on full scholarships.
However, dental prevention has not traditionally been a way of life here. There has always been a struggle with periodontitis, but now, with increased disposable income due to tourism, children have greater access to sweets, thus leading to increased tooth decay. A study done in 2008 under the guidance of Eugenio Baltran of the CDC showed that 80% of the students with primary (baby) teeth suffer from tooth decay. Many of the students suffer from infections of the tooth pulp and dental abscesses. Fortunately, this figure drops to 45%, and impacts only a few teeth as the students acquire and maintain their adult dentition. However, calculus (tartar) build-up, which is a major causative agent in periodontal disease, becomes a significant issue. Over 90% of the students 12 years and older have calculus deposits to some degree that if not removed lead to weakening of the supporting
bone and eventual tooth loss. Some of the older students (17 and 18 years old) are already showing signs of this, and developing Periodontitis.
The realization that something could be done to halt the problem spurred the school’s administration to take action to improve the oral health of the students. Several steps have already been implemented to improve the oral health situation. The principle, Mr. Eshey Tundup, has banned the sale of sweet tea and candy at the school. Bill Kite, a long time tour operator in the Himalayan region is facilitating and coordinating the efforts of foreign volunteers. In 2007 every student and staff received a tooth brush, paste, and floss in addition to proper oral hygiene instruction administered by a group of 85 students from Singapore (UWSEA and Tanglin Trust School), under the guidance of Dr. Kelvin Chye.This was followed in 2008 by the Singapore Dental Society sending a team of 15 dentists for five days to provide direct care. Since then, several dentists have volunteered their time to the project, alleviating much of the immediate suffering.
In the early summer of 2008 Wisdomtooth trained the school nurse, Yangchen Dolma how to provide basic dental care. A long time presence at the school, she has earned the students’ trust and respect, and has proven her commitment to the health of the children. Furthermore, since she is Ladakhi, she speaks the language, and deeply understands the local culture. This gives her a massive advantage in providing treatment. After six weeks of intensive training, she acquired the skills and clinical judgment required to adequately diagnose decay, gingivitis, periodontitis, pulpitis, and dental abscesses. She gained proficiency at placing fillings with hand instruments in baby teeth, removing calculus, and extracting painful and abscessed teeth while continuing to emphasize prevention. Each year Wisdomtooth sends several volunteers to continue her training, and her skills continue to improve and solidify. We would like to continue providing volunteers to train Yangchen. She is the only continuous dental presence for Lamdon's students for the foreseeable future.
Volunteering here is a great opportunity to be on the cutting edge of international dental aid work by empowering the Ladakhis themselves to meet their own dental treatment needs. So join us in this incredible Himalayan community. The knowledge that you pass on will continue to benefit the people here long after you have returned home.
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Since 2003, Children's Health International Medical Project Seattle (CHIMPS) has been sending volunteers to this remote, mountainous, and war torn area of El Salvador. Early on, they found that dental decay was a major health problem. So they teamed with Enlace and the local health committee to address the problem by teaching oral hygiene, nutritional counselling, and training health workers how to apply fluoride. However, in spite of these efforts, they found that 42% of the children in the area still suffer from what they consider severe dental decay (40% have moderate decay). Of this same group of children, 45% experienced dental pain related to tooth decay.
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