Shalem's Visit to the Dentist

Vocational visits are a central part of any Group Study Exchange, and each member has specially arranged excursions to learn about how their profession is practiced in the host district. As the Team Leader, I have the opportunity to tag along on some vocational visits, just to make sure the process is working smoothly and the satisfy my own curiosity about the subject matter in question.

Today, I had the pleasure to accompany Shalem to the Vidarbha Youth Welfare Society Dental College and Hospital on the outskirts of Amravati. A pleasure not only because I was able to see some fascinating interaction between a team member and local professionals, but because it is a rare treat to be among dentists without being in their treatment chair myself!

 

 

The institution is similar to the many that we have already seen in our time in District 5520. This one, obviously more a college than a hospital, was relatively calm and didn't have the scores of people waiting for treatment that we have seen elsewhere.





 

 

We were welcomed into the Department of Preventative & Community Dentistry, signposted in the typical way in Engligh and Hindi (or Murati, the local language -- I am not sure which). It consists of a large space with many dentist's chairs, a number of which were occupied by patients. Large windows allowed a lot of light into the space--something that does not always seem to the case in Indian institutional buildings (that Garrey Curruthers would describe, were they to be transported to the NMSU campus, as "Soviet-style in the vein of O'Donnell Hall).

 

 

Shalem had a long conversation with the college staff, comparing notes about dental hygiene in India, available treatments and community health outreach efforts into the rural areas (typically known as "Tribal Areas"). The profession as it is practiced in the US and India shares some of the same challenges, and they use many of the same techniques. But the demands of a rural population that numbers hundreds of millions of poor farmers is clearly something that demands the involvement of charitable organizations like Rotary--yet, inevitably, many will fail to receive the care that they need.

 

At an earlier stop at a remote community we had seen the twigs of the Neem tree that villagers traditionally use for toothbrushes. They seem somewhat effective, but they can't be considered a replacement for a nice new Oral-B toothbrush!

 

Shalem had an interesting conversation with an entrepeneurial dental hygienist on the staff who showed her his designs for a combinationa toothbrush and toothpaste dispenser that looked rather like a ballpoint pen and would be carried in a jacket pocket or purse. He is trying to interest multinational companies in his design. Whether or not he succeeds is yet to be seen, but he exemplifies once again the entrepreneurial spirit that permeates every corner of this enormous country.

 

Shalem gets a score of 9 out of ten for her vocational visit to the Vidarbha Youth Welfare Society Dental College and Hospital. Both she and the photographer (me!) each gets one point deducted for not straightening her name badge for the photo op!