Call for dental volunteers

On Saturday, March 30 a team of volunteers will head-off to the northern Indian province of Himachal Pradesh to provide free dental care for Tibetan refugees.

Trip organiser, Dr Jamie Robertson, says that already three dentists, one dental therapist and two dental nurses have "signed up" for this, the tenth such trip to be made by a group of Australian volunteers.

Dr Robertson, a veteran of four trips, says the humanitarian program, which began in 1985, operates under the' auspices of Rotary International.

Volunteering dentists are expected to have been graduated for at least four years.

"The reason for this is that when you are in a situation where there can be no referral, it demands a certain amount of clinical experience. Also, you need a certain maturity to tackle the culture shock," he says.

"You live in fairly adverse circumstances; the water supply may be uncertain, toilet facilities may be prirr:iitive and the food served up to you may not be what your mother gives you. The rewards which one gets from this admittedly hard work are intangible - but they're there."

Volunteers pay all their own expenses ( which are tax deductible) and are away for four weeks. "They actually work for about three-and-a-half weeks and then I recommend they relax for a few days," says Dr Robertson.

Dental equipment and supplies are donated or paid for by service organisations. "Dental supply houses have been marvellous," says Dr Robertson. "Both SDI and A-dec have donated field units."