HYGIENIST Belinda Netluch and dental assistant and receptionist Caitlin Matthews have their hearts set on providing oral education and care to Nepalese communities.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In September, the Muswellbrook pair will assist in a dentist clinic in a monastery and provide check ups, cleans, fillings and more to the local community.
The dentistry duo will team up with two other girls in the Happy Tooth franchise from Singleton and Cessnock to treat patients who have never been to, or heard about, a dentist before.
“[We] really wanted to find somewhere where there was a need for oral health education and a need for dentistry,” Ms Netluch said.
Attending to a vast array of people from all ages, the group will work in hot and humid conditions and learn to operate as a team, and to reach as many people as possible.
“We have to work with the basics,” Ms Netluch said.
This trip will be Ms Netluch’s second time voyaging to Nepal to undertake volunteer dentistry work.
She is the only one from this current group who has been before and, therefore, has background knowledge on what to expect.
“We want to thank the Muswellbrook community for getting behind us and helping us to get over there,” the hygienist said.
“And, we’d like to thank the Happy Tooth crew for sending us as well.
“You know, we take for granted what we’ve got here in Australia, obliviously, they don’t know what we have, so just giving back [is the key],” Ms Matthews said.
The girls are looking forward to their great adventure and being able to work with the piece of mind that they are making a difference – one tooth at a time.