Dental News - Pacific Dental Services Foundation provides care in Ethiopia

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Pacific Dental Services Foundation provides care in Ethiopia

Thanks to the efforts of these volunteers affiliated with the Pacific Dental Services Foundation, hundreds of patients in Ethiopia recently received comprehensive oral health care. (Photo: Pacific Dental Services Foundation)

Thu. 4 October 2018

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IRVINE, Calif., USA: The Pacific Dental Services (PDS) Foundation, a charitable organization committed to providing oral health care to those in need, recently provided comprehensive oral health care to patients in the communities of Mekelle and Hawzen, in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia.

From Sept. 14 to 22, the PDS Foundation, in collaboration with Smile Generation-trusted clinicians, served alongside the Dental School at Mekelle University and the Relief Society of Tigray and provided 655 patients more than $344,433 in donated dentistry.

“I was so blessed to be able to be a part of this trip,” said Dr. Paul Awad of Pomona Dentistry. “The opportunity to serve the wonderful people of Ethiopia with other like-minded clinicians was an experience I’ll never forget.”

The clinical volunteers on this mission trip provided patients with a full range of dentistry, from extractions to restorations to scaling and root planing. In addition, the clinical team worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the Mekelle University dental students, providing them with additional coaching.

The PDS Foundation’s trip to Ethiopia is part of the organization’s international mission to provide individuals with opportunities to serve those most in need around the world. According to the World Health Organization, it’s estimated that 71 percent of Ethiopians are affected by oral health-related illnesses. Smile Generation-trusted clinicians and volunteers have embarked on annual missions to Ethiopia with the PDS Foundation since 2010. They will work shoulder-to-shoulder with the Dental School at Mekelle University to provide coaching and training for their dental students.

To date, clinical volunteers have treated an estimated 10,000 patients.

The Pacific Dental Services Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization whose mission is to create opportunities to serve through improving oral healthcare locally, nationally and internationally. By creating opportunities to serve, the PDS Foundation positively enhances the lives of those in need, and in turn, those who serve.

The foundation provides access and advocacy to disadvantaged and underserved communities in four key areas: PDS Foundation Mobile Dental Clinic, special needs advocacy and training, oral health scholarships and international trips. More information is available on the internet, at www.pdsfoundation.org, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PDSFoundation, on Twitter at twitter.com/PDSFoundation and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pdsfoundation.

(Source: Pacific Dental Services Foundation)

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