In a country with a high oral disease
burden (according to the first and only Kenya National Oral
Health Survey 2015), offering free dental care that keeps groups of the
population away from preventable dental diseases is undoubtedly a welcome
action.
Once a year, usually in November, children
and adults in Nairobi’s vulnerable neighbourhood of Kabiria receive their
annual oral health care administered by Brazilian NGO Por 1 Sorriso (it can be translated
into English as “For one Smile”)—a visit that has been occurring since 2017.
In partnership with the Brazilian NGO Hai Africa, which has been working in Kabiria since
2014, offering free-of-charge preschool education, these Brazilian dentists
without borders set up their dental office at the partner and neighbouring Fizi School, founded by
refugees from Congo who settled in the neighbourhood.
There, they provide care ranging from primary
clinical care to dental surgery, including pediatric dentistry and endodontics.
Everything is free of charge, and the dentists provide all supplies and materials
used in the treatments. “For two weeks, around 20 dentists (who stay in the
community) serve around 300 people a day, working from early in the morning
until evening”, explains Mariana Fischer, CEO of the NGO Hai Africa and one of
the action coordinators.
The target audience is children who attend
Hai Center preschool and Fizi School and their family members. “In Africa, oral
diseases are increasingly being recognised as a major health problem, as well
as their common modifiable risk factors”, states Por 1 Sorriso on its Instagram page.
The NGO maintains a similar action in a
rural area in inner Mozambique. It also carries out regular oral health social
actions throughout the year in less advantaged communities in rural Brazil.