Amchi Project takes dental healthcare to Leh, again

MANIPAL: Nine months of meticulous planning saw 32 volunteers, budding dentists from India and abroad, bring oral health care to the doorstep of Leh residents. The 12-day stint from July 30 to August 11 ended with 1,200 people being screened and 1,100 individuals being treated for dental problems in a town which lacks such facilities.
Volunteers from the Manipal College of Dental Sciences (MCODS), Manipal comprising interns and staff conducted the third consecutive major dental outreach programme in collaboration with European Dental Students’ Association under the banner of Amchi.The volunteers fanned out to schools in Leh and in remote, sparsely-populated areas such as Nubra Valley, Diskit.
According to team leader Dr Jakka Sabareesh, students, interns and doctors from nine nations — India, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, France, Romania, Japan and Croatia. The multi-disciplinary team provided dental health screening and treatment and covered four junior and high schools.
“Wth dentists from Europe joining in, the programme was rewarding. They treated schoolchildren and trained healthcare providers,” said Dr H Vinod Bhat, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Manipal University. ‘Amchi’ incidentally means ‘community medical servants’ in Ladakhi.
The 2014 team was able to take the Amchi-Smiles Project to the next level. The team demonstrated hand washing techniques according to WHO guidelines and oral hygiene instructions. There is a tremendous scarcity of water in Leh because nine months a year, it is snow clad and maintaining personal hygiene is a challenge.
Dr Pankhuri Jain, deputy leader, said, “We undertook new initiatives wherein dental Index, DMFT (decayed, missing, filled teeth) was recorded for a group of children in Chunlam Sa School, Leh. Such records will enable collection of data and monitoring outcome of project over a period of time. After touching eastern Ladakh in 2012 and regions like Kargil, Padum in 2013, the team this year reached out to regions around Nubra Valley, Diskit and Hunder,” he said.
Volunteers battled mountain sickness and treacherous terrain during their stay. Dr Shashidhar Acharya, head of department of public health dentistry and one of the founders of the Amchi Project, said.
“Experience from previous trips proved useful and volunteers were able to recover and get down to business,” he said.