Dr Monik Vasant will be flying over to Tanzania on the 12th September to provide the local area with a portable dental facility.

Dr Monik Vasant will be helping to provide oral health information and to stop Infant Oral Mutilation (IOM).

Infant oral mutilation is the process of gouging out an infant’s healthy baby teeth. A primitive technique is usually employed involving un – sterile knives, bicycle spokes or other bizarre and inappropriate instruments. The result is severe pain and confusion, serious future mouth problems and in the worst case scenario end in the death of the child.

Why is it done? When young children with diarrhoea and fevers are taken to be treated by a local healer the soft white tooth buds are mistaken for the fever causing parasite worms, commonly found in diarrhoea. It is believed that the child is unwell because of these ‘mouth worms’ whereas in reality the cause of the illness is something quite different, often malaria, dehydration, or a stomach bug caused by contaminated water.

Dr Monik Vasant will be in Mwanza and Musoma which are towns in Tanzania in East Africa for 2 weeks where he will be teaching the local communities the real truth about Infants Oral Health and general dentistry in hard to reach communities in a portable dental clinic.

He will also be taking with him dental equipment which he will be installing in Tanzania for the far outreach communities to use with the knowledge they will be given.

We wish him good luck and hope he can make a difference to the lives of children over there.