The Akhonya Dental Project: a new charity aiming to provide oral health education and preventative care in Kenya.
Kenya is a country plagued by HIV and lacking in adequate healthcare resources, and despite dental caries remaining the most common disease in the world, there is estimated to be only one dentist per 100,000 population in Kenya. Evidence suggests that many Kenyans are unaware of the causes of dental disease and half of the population are unaware of measures that can be taken to prevent dental disease. Oral health education is a clearly vital for improving the health of the Kenyan population. The Akhonya Dental Project is a new charity which aims to provide oral health education, prevention and treatment for AIDS orphans in rural Kenya. This article describes the ethos of the charity and long-term aim to increase oral health awareness in the region.
Barber
S
S
SHO in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Pinderfields General Hospital, Wakefield. sophy.barber@googlemail.com
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; D002608:Charities / Q000941:ethics; D002648:Child; D054540:Child, Orphaned; D003256:Community Participation; D019140:Dental Care for Children; D015658:HIV Infections; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya; D011313:Preventive Dentistry; D011788:Quality of Life; D019035:Rural Health Services; D035862:Vulnerable Populations