Again this year from Nov. 1st until Nov. 13th 2014 I was able to work as a dental assistant at PDO.
In the mornings I visited the children in their classrooms, starting with kindergarten. I bought 550 toothbrushes and distributed them among the children, some of whom remembered me from my former visit and some even remembered my name. The learning results, especially among the older children, were quite impressive.
Children are not born with a competence in dental hygiene, they must learn and practise it. Practising in a group increases motivation and willingness to learn. The brushing technique we use (at least twice a day brushing with fluoridated toothpaste) guarantees local fluoridation.
The children also learned, that sugar is hidden in a lot of foodstuffs. We played a diet game in which children could choose and allocate food on a green (good for teeth) or red.(bad for teeth) cloth. They played the game well and understood the context between amount of sugar and occurrence of sugar.
The lesson ended with a brushing concert, a lot of laughter and a farewell song sung together.
In the afternoons, I used the dental surgery for individual prophylaxis. I summoned several children and could answer individual question and help with problems. In case of tooth decay (caries) I made appointments with the dentist.
I was again supported by Kay Thi who had spent 3 months in Switzerland this year where she could do training with three different dentists.
Like in the years before, I very much liked working at PDO.
Übersetzung: Wolfgang Müller-Wind, Mitglied des Vorstandes Förderverein Myanmar e.V.
