Friday, 11 September 2015

The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”
By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield
Record Breaking Mission

Hello again, I hope that you are well. It’s all go again on the Castle Park front.  I’m off to South Wales again for another three days advanced training course keeping up to date and adding more tools to the toolbox, so to speak.  Lifelong learning is crucial I reckon, for me anyway.

Would You Adam & Eve it?
Just a few short weeks ago I went back to Morocco with Dental Mavericks to get kids out of pain again (this was just before the mountain climb).  This was my 7th Maverick mission. We teamed up with the Eve Branson foundation for the second time.  It’s great to work with partners like this and we are making progress with our ambition of an established “Teeth For Life Program” including supply of toothbrushes and tooth paste as well as the all-important dental education.



Record Breakers

Wouldn’t stop brushing!
 
We have come a long way since our first mission back in 2010 with just four dentists in a classroom and just the little wooden chairs.  This last trip we had five dentists and two dental therapists.  The fantastic thing was we had as many dental nurses. This meant that we could be so much more efficient and see more children and rid them of their daily pain. Also, going back to the same property meant that we had a game plan already and just set up and cracked on.  There are always challenges in Morocco and it always seems to be bureaucracy.
For some reason we couldn’t work on the morning of the second day and had to relocate to a different property that was smaller, so we had three chairs instead of five.  Eventually later on day two we cracked again getting everyone out of pain. In a day and a bit we had seen 340 children, actively treated 170 and took out about 400 teeth! Bless them.  Everybody got a tooth brushing lesson and a tooth brush and tooth paste.  We will also be providing enough for the year.

More Good Thing To Come                                          
Last year we purchased 2 portable dental units so that we could actually restore (fill) and save teeth.  This is particularly important for front teeth. BUT, they got stuck in Casablanca and held to ransom. Anyway, after paying the ransom they arrived in Asni in the Atlas Mountains.  We actually saw the two crates that they were in but we couldn’t open them let alone use them. This was a bit frustrating.  The good news is that they have been “signed off” and we will be able to use them on our next trip in September in the Rif Mountains.

Keeping It In The Family
My son, Edward, came on his second Mavericks trip. He’s grown in confidence and having experience working at my place has helped.  He was great with the kids, they loved him.  He taught them how to brush their teeth. He did very well for an 18-year-old lad.


Another Big Thank You to all who sponsored Edward and myself. To date we have raised about £1300.  Also a thank you to the Ladies group in Hedon that I gave a talk to.  They have collected a load of toothpaste and toothbrushes that we can send out.  That’s great stuff. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/castleparkdentalcare 
Until next time.   Take care and be good. Oh, and come on Hull City, get straight back up
Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 22 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’s charity work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

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