Dentistry in Peru

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Hola chicas and chicos!



Tomorrow we are off onto the Salkantay Trek And we're pretty excited/nervous. We had a thorough briefing last night by our guides. They informed us about all the sights we will be visiting along the way and the amount of walking we will be doing, which is a lot!

On Monday we began our Spanish lessons with our teacher, Roxanna, she is lovely and really helping us bring words together To form sentences.



On Tuesday we were picked up at 9am by our organiser, Pablo, from the mundo verde scheme. he took us to the local government hospital which is just off the main square, Plaza de Armas. There, we were taken into the dental clinic which is a small room consisting of 2 dental chairs, one for extractions and the other for general dentistry. We met the dentists Yurico, a lovely Peruvian lady and the intern Shirley. The intern is equivalent to our VT year except they aren't paid and they only graduate once they complete this year Of work.

We were told that the nurses were on strike so many patients weren't booked in.

The clinic sees patients from the community who are having problems and require dental work. The dentists do a consultation, this involves a history, exam, diagnoses and treatment plan. They then give the patient a quote and it is up to the patient to return for the required treatment. This price is minimum and the facilities are basic, as illustrated by the photos. Like England, dental treatment in this clinic is free for the very ill, for the pregnant and children.



So today Ashni and I got to treat. We saw one patient each, I did a filling and Ashni carried out A scale, using hand instruments only! Back in bristol we use ultrasonics which makes it much easier. Like we said, the facilities were just basic, makes us more thankful for the NHS!



So about the infection control, they did wipe down after every patient, kinda, and the instruments were cleaned in an autoclave etc but the hygiene was nowhere near our standards back home. From example the x ray processor was on the toilet, yes that's right! and the dental chair was not very clean. the Photos tell all!

However it was a great experience, and we know a lot more about the healthcare system in Peru now, the team were lovely and we are going to meet them for dinner next week after our trek!

Next entry will be after the Salkantay!



AdioS



S and A

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