A Visit to the Dentist

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“The children in our School are bused in, coming from villages in the surrounding area. The School aims to first give them opportunities to understand Indian culture, become confidant rural people, able face the problems and competition in all the fields. We are helping them become competent with real life skills" School Principal.

We had an excursion to the Hospital today. It came to my attention late last week that the lower primary classes had not yet had a check up with our resident Dentist, now active in the Ashram Hospital. The 50 odd children from one of the Kindergarten classes were so excited to be out of the classroom. We sang the "Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy" Mantra on the dusty walk over from the School and I enjoyed the walk as much as the littlies.

We did drawings in the waiting area and there were some master artists at work. I lifted most of them up into the big chair and waited, watching each face and the changing expressions. Only four children were terrified during the experience. One boy said "I don't have fever, please don't give me an injection". The other three let themselves go right at the end and surrendered to the metal instruments being guided around their little mouths. Their terror turned to glee as they raced back to join their safe haven of classmates, victorious at surviving a short time in the Dental chair.

The Dentist and his assistant were so patient with such a big group. They had quite a system going with a steady chain of steps to ensure each instrument was sterilized and each child received some reassuring small talk. Also a slip of paper to take home if they needed to come back for Dental work.

In light of the fact that many children didn't actually own a toothbrush and the other fact that toffees are now slightly more abundant than when their parents were young, there will be several re-visits to the Dentist. One big step forward was the reality that so many people in so many parts of the world have been collaborating their fundraising efforts to touch the lives of so many small children, allowing them this opportunity. There were elated smiles on every small face when we handed out toothbrushes after the Dental visit.

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