A dental therapist embarked on a 10,500-mile round trip to Zimbabwe – and removed hundreds of badly decayed teeth from locals.
Monica Zendera, who now lives in Hucknall, was born and brought up in the African country and moved to England in 2003.
The 28-year-old, who works for Nottingham’s salaried dental service, was part of a team of four who travelled to the African country to teach hundreds of people who have no access to dental care how to look after their teeth.
The team worked in schools, hospitals, orphanages, remote villages and even a store room during the 14-day trip in April.
She said: “Due to the financial difficulties in Zimbabwe, there are people who have no access to healthcare as they can’t afford to pay the fees and in the most remote areas services are not even available.
“The majority of the people had never seen a dentist and they were living in pain.”
They also ran a clinic at a health centre near the town of Chinhoyi, where they had to work in a store room and sterilise equipment in pressure cookers.
Some 200 people gathered at the centre asking for free dental treatment – and 170 badly decayed teeth were removed.
Dozens of children were also given toothbrushes and shown how to brush their teeth.
Monica said: “The chair, drills and light had ceased to work so we shone torches into their mouths. It was a long day but very rewarding helping to get as many people as possible out of pain.
“The majority of the patients we saw had travelled long distances on foot with no food or drink and were generally weak and faint due to hunger. We had to keep a close eye on them and bring up their blood sugar levels before any treatment.”
The group, who each had to raise £2,100 for their trip, went over to Zimbabwe with international dental charity Dentaid, which works to eradicate dental pain all over the world.
In the last 20 years the charity has worked in more than 70 countries and sends teams of volunteers to Africa, Asia and Central America.
A spokeswoman said: “They worked extremely hard, the team work was just brilliant. The patients were extremely grateful and very happy. I’m sure it was an absolutely rewarding and eye-opening experience for them.”
