Dental Health
Scottsdale Bible first went to Mairowa for a combined medical and dental trip in 2005. At this time the dental team members assessed the needs of the community and did patient dental extractions. There was no dental care available in or near Mairowa. The dental need is great with 35,000,000 people in Tanzania and only 100 practicing dentists. The closest dental care to Mairowa is a 2.5 hour drive to Arusha. Transportation is difficult and costly; it would cost a minimum of $100US for a patient to travel to Arusha to seek dental care then return to Mairowa and the average person’s annual income is approximately $360.
In September 2009 a short-term dental team brought seven suitcases and three large boxes filled with dental equipment to Mairowa. The team had spent the previous six months raising funds and purchasing dental supplies and equipment to take to Mairowa as well as funds to purchase additional items in Arusha that were too difficult to transport from the United States. The team purchased a portable x-ray machine, instrument sterilizer, generator (because there is no electricity in Mairowa) and other necessary supplies and instruments. They established and equipped a dental clinic using a room they were given at the existing Mairowa Medical Clinic. We have since heard that “it is the best equipped dental clinic between Nairobi, Kenya and Arusha, Tanzania.”
In addition to establishing a permanent dental clinic, the dental team’s mission was to fulfill a request made in 2005 to train Tanzanian Clinical Medical Officers to provide basic dental services along with their duties to provide medical care. The team trained four indigenous Tanzanian physicians from the Mairowa area in head and neck anatomy, oral diseases and treatment, oral hygiene, local anesthetic administration and extractions. The District Medical Officer provided these four Tanzanian Clinical Medical Officers to be trained in basic dental care and he promised one would be posted in Mairowa. Dr. Albert was assigned to Mariowa. There had not been a doctor in Mairowa for over one year.
In April and July 2010 Dr. Joe Lindner led additional short-term dental teams to Mairowa and they visited Dr. Albert. Dr. Albert gave us tours of the dental clinic which included a brief summary of dental health care and a description of the dental equipment and how to operate the equipment. Dr. Albert is a Christian young man who cares deeply for his patients with compassion; he has been a very busy man providing quality medical and dental treatment in an environment that presents many challenges. The Mairowa Clinic he runs services a population of approximately 16,000 people and his patients are mostly from the Massi tribe that inhabits the Mairowa area.
We were amazed at what Dr. Albert has been able to accomplish in a short time. We thank God that Dr. Albert is using his God given gifts and abilities to provide the much needed care in this community. We are sure Dr. Albert will have a very positive impact on this beautiful community. Dr. Mvunta, another doctor we trained in dental care in September 2009, plans to retire from the government health service soon and he will help Dr. Albert at the Mairowa Clinic as well as provide medical and dental care to the Scottsdale Bible sponsored children attending the Mairowa Integrity School.
If you are interested in providing a tax deductible gift to support the ongoing needs of the Mairowa dental clinic, send a check made out to Scottsdale Bible Church and write Tanzanian Dental Project on the memo line. If you would like to learn more about this project or if you are able to donate dental instruments (new or used oral surgery or dental hygiene instruments) please contact Dr Joe Lindner at 480.250.3609 or jlindner@sbcaz.org.
