The Muswellbrook Happy Tooth employees used their dental skills in September, to help monks and nuns from the Asian country.

Ms Netluch said she had tried to prepare herself mentally for what it would be like being in the developing nation.

”It was definitely a lot more challenging than I thought,” she said.

“We were very limited in resources, especially for myself.

“I just had a little stool, a little lay back chair that patients would sit in, and I was stuck in the corner with very limited instruments.”

However, despite the difficulties, the dental hygienist learned a lot about her role while working overseas, including the importance of communication.

“The language barrier was huge as well, which was another challenge in itself,” she said.

“As a hygienist, communicating oral hygiene is so important.

“So it was really important for me to visually show them how to do everything.

“Working as a team as well, that was a huge thing.”

Throughout their two-week trip, the Muswellbrook women saw hundreds of patients.

“One day we saw something like 120 – that was when we were doing a lot of screening,” Ms Netluch said.

“So we would screen them, and then bring them back.”

Seeing life in Nepal caused Ms Netluch to reflect on living conditions in Australia.

“It was definitely an eye opener there,” she said.

“I think we take a lot of things for granted, in terms of our health care that we have provided, or even just the way we live.”

She said the highlight for her would have been staying in the monastery itself.

“It was so different to any other experience in that we actually got to live with these monks and experience their way of life,” she said.

“And they’re so basic, like no electronics, no WiFi.

“Of a nighttime we’d just go back and sit around the table and talk because there was no TV to watch, but it was really nice to get back to basics.

“We also got to know each other better from the Happy Tooth.

“Even though we all work together, you never really know someone just from work, so we all got really close from that as well.

“I’d definitely like to thank the Happy Tooth, Ralph and Alex Ward – they generously gave us this opportunity, and Megan Budd as well, who came with us.”

Ms Seagrave said something she learned a lot during the trip.

Something she noticed which she didn’t expect – the health of their teeth.

“They had more of an appetite for veges so they didn’t have much decay,” she said.

“They didn’t have much sugar.”

She said none of the patients they saw would have been to the dentist before and it was rewarding for her to be able to give them that opportunity.

Ms Seagrave recommended anyone thinking of working overseas in their profession to give it a go.

“Definitely do it – it’s worth it,” she said.

“You learn a lot of things, and there’s a lot of team building.”

Ms Netluch said Happy Tooth was hoping to send a team to Nepal again this year.