Dental Training Mission at Lion of Judah Academy a Huge Success!

Dentists and technicians from I-DENT in Dunnellon, Florida, joined dental professionals from Virginia, Kenya and Uganda, to train nine new Tanzanian medical workers in basic dental procedures and skills. The training took place at The Lion of Judah Academy, in cooperation with AICT-Bulima Dispensary, August 26-31. As a result a dental clinic is now operational as part of the health care ministry of Bulima Dispensary, managed by The Lion of Judah Academy. Three other satellite clinics around western Tanzania operating, and mobile clinics are planned.

Check out the album of photos on Flickr

The training began began with an intensive day and one-half of classroom study, then moved quickly to several long days of “hand-on” practical learning under the supervision of the training team. The final day, Saturday, had the nine students completely set up and run the clinic entirely on their own, without any assistance from the training team.

It was amazing to watch as the nine students, who had virtually no dental training at all on Monday morning, but were all evaluating and treating challenging cases by Saturday.

During the four and one-half days of treatment over 200 patients from the village and local schools, including the Lion of Judah Academy, received free care – primarily to treat pain and other issues resulting from diseased teeth and requiring extraction. At the conclusion of the last day there were still many patients waiting to be seen. So by the next Monday the new Dental Clinic at Bulima Dispensary was up and running, treating those who had remained untreated on the previous Saturday!

Not only did the trainers provide a wealth of knowledge, expertise and training, I-DENT also donated several sets of dental implements, as well as specially designed portable dental chairs.

There was a special celebration during Sunday morning Chapel at The Lion of Judah Academy, thanking the dental training team for all their work, and honoring the fact that all nine students had successfully completed their training, receiving certification from I-DENT and from the Tanzanian heal ministry, in basic dental skills and dental sterilization skills

Good quality dental care is difficult to find in Tanzania, and usually far beyond the means of most Tanzanians. These clinics, at Mkula Hospital, Kolondoto Hospital, AICT Health Care Center in Mwanza, all coordinating with Bulima Dispensary, will go a long way to helping…all in the name of Jesus!

The long-term vision includes:

– developing mobile clinics to go out into remote areas, to people who have no access to dental care

– expanding the range of care the dental technicians are trained to provide

– establishing a larger permanent dental clinic and training center on the Lion of Judah Academy campus

Funding, of course, is needed for all those things. If you are interested in being part of this effort we invite you to contact us at: LOJ@thelionofjudah.info

Or donate directly here. We have just initiated a new project for this purpose.

Check out the album of photos on Flickr