Turkish dentists give Kenyans back their smiles

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – Turkish dentists are offering free dental care and fostering oral hygiene awareness in Kenya’s Lamu County in a partnership between Turkey and Kenya aimed at promoting quality healthcare.

Turkish Ambassador to Kenya Ahmet Cemil Miroglu and Lamu Governor Fahim Yasin Twaha toured the dental health camp Thursday, witnessing firsthand the hundreds who were treated.

The area was in dire need of dental services, with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) estimating that the shortage of dentists across Kenya has led to a state where one dentist caters for 30,000 people. In Kenya, dentists are mostly in big cities, leaving those in rural areas deprived of dental care.

Miroglu and Twaha expressed their satisfaction with the services being provided by the Turkish dentists at the health camp, which was organized by TIKA and the Women's Education and Culture Foundation (HEKVA).

“Here on Lamu and Faza islands, five female dentists participated in our dental health camp, leaving everyone with a smile,” TIKA’s Nairobi Program Coordinator Emre Yuksek said in a statement.

Yuksek added that for those who could not reach the camp, TIKA brought the dentists to them.

“Kenyan colleagues went to the villages every day, traveling long distances in boats, and performed dental scans and treatments,” he said, referring to dentists under TIKA’s health camp.

“In a week, 2,500 people underwent dental screening, and 750 people’s teeth were treated. Medications were provided for many patients,” he added.