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Short Commentary: Hygiene in the Himalayas Trisha E. O'Hehir, RDH, BS Editorial Director, Hygienetown Magazine

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Hygiene in the Himalayas

I've volunteered at several free clinics in different cities where I've lived, but always wanted to travel to a remote area to provide dental hygiene care. The opportunity came for me last November when I was invited to visit a remote orphanage in Tawang, India, with the Amrit Davaa World Health Corp. This is a group founded by Dr. Natalie Nevins, a physician in the Los Angeles area and her husband Paul Arentz, who is also my stepson and a former dental assistant. Dr. Nevins owns a wellness center within a yoga center in Hollywood where a request came from a monk in India asking for help with medical problems among the children in his orphanage. Dr. Nevins worked tirelessly and in record time the trip was organized with nearly $100,000 in supplies and equipment donated by Direct Relief. Three physicians, a nurse from California, four pediatric residents from Calcutta, India, and I made up the medical/dental team.

The Manjushree Orphanage is located 10,000 feet in the Himalayan Mountains, in what once was Tibet. The trip involved a 15-hour flight from Los Angeles to Taipi, a five-hour flight to Dehli, a four-hour flight to Guwahati, and two-and-a-half days by jeep. We arrived at the orphanage on Thanksgiving Day to a warm welcome from the children and to a breathtakingly beautiful area that is still very primitive.
Trisha O'Hehir works on a patient
in a makeshift dental clinic in the Himalayas

The “dental clinic” consisted of a bed and lawn chair. Using disposable mirrors and the PeriLux headlamp, donated by PerioOptix, I examined the children and Paul recorded the findings. We saw several children in pain with deciduous teeth that were abscessed, badly decayed, or were preventing permanent teeth from erupting. I was called upon to perform several extractions; thankfully I had several years of assisting experience in oral surgery. With the help of translators, I gave tooth brushing instructions to the entire group of children. Paul and I also applied OMNI Vanish Varnish, donated by 3M ESPE.


Before
These "before and after" photos show the teeth of a physician from Calcutta who Trisha Treated
After

It was an adventure that truly impacted my life. These children, the monks and teachers who care for them have so little, yet are so happy, educated and appreciative of all their blessings. You can see it in their smiles. We brought them medical and dental care, and they taught us to appreciate our many blessings. They opened their hearts to us and as you can imagine, there were many tears as we said our goodbyes.



Old toothbrushes were tossed away and replaced. 		 
Deciduous teeth extracted due to pain.
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