This year Dr Ross Napoli had the extraordinary opportunity to work with the long established Australian Vietnam Volunteers Resource Group (AVVRG) in the Dental care team in the Long Tan region of the BaRia – Vung Tau Province. The AVVRG Dental Clinic at Long Tan is periodically visited by Australian dentists able to assist locals with dental care. The provision of dental care and dental hygiene education is a low priority matter in Vietnam. The ready availability of sugary sweets in Vietnam results in a very high rate of dental caries in children, The Dental Care Team are currently pursuing an oral health care program in the region in conjunction with the local Department of Health. Practicing Dentists are always welcomed to support this ongoing project and we were granted the opportunity to assist.
Some portable dental equipment is available which have enabled the teams to travel to the children in the schools surrounding Long Tan.
Contrary to what we may think about the modernisation of Vietnam, the country still has many problems with severe poverty and lack of basic healthcare. I have treated many disadvantaged children in other countries but I have never seen the ravages of war on a population of people who are some of the kindest and friendliest on earth.
Parkside Dental Clinic would like to sincerely thank Dr Richard Salter after his recent retirement from full time dental practice for his many years of service to our patients. In addition, his charitable commitments with the Rotary East Timor dental project over the years have been both admirable and inspiring to his colleagues. Dr Salter’s ethos in working for his patients, whether in East Timor or at Parkside Dental Clinic, proved that at the core of the profession there is still true nobility. This is certainly an enduring quality he has shared with his associates, some of which continue in his footsteps to provide regular charitable services to Thailand and Cambodia.
