Pre-dent Volunteering Abroad, Need Supplies - Any Ideas?

[Branston87]

Greetings fellow pre-dents - I am a recently accepted pre-dent who is currently volunteering abroad at a charity in Quito, Ecuador. I've taken a position as the manager of the dental program here and I have a few ideas that I feel could really make a difference here in the community IF I can find a way to get them off the ground. My budget is basically zero, however, meaning that I'm going to need to be creative if I want to accomplish things that I feel are vital for improving the oral health of the people here in our barrio.

I was wondering if anybody out in the pre-dent universe knows of any/has any connections with any dentistry-related charities that might be able to help me out (the same goes for instrument companies) - as of now, the items at the very top of my wish list are instruments for hygiene, as I think that regular prophy exams could make a tremendous difference here.

Also if anybody else has any ideas in general - raising money, soliciting donations, ideas for improving oral health - I am open to everything. At the end of the day, I'm doing whatever I can to improve the oral health of the people here, and if that means asking for help from whoever I can get it from (I'm basically on my own in this program), I'll do it in a second.

Also, I'll be posting this in the Dental portal as well, as I'm sure there are plenty of folks with advice on the matter there.

Thanks, and good luck to all of you who are still hanging in limbo. I know first hand that it sucks, but there is light at the end of the tunnel - just don't stop following it!

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[MrJingles]

You could contact any of the prominent toothbrush manufacturers and ask that their factory seconds/rejects get sent to you as an act of good will instead of destroying them/donating them elsewhere. I am coming to Ecuador for my first time with a dental/medical mission and they ask for factory seconds as donation. Not quite sure how you'd get them shipped though.. :-/

 

[ashlai89]

You can also try asking some of your local dental offices for donations such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, or floss. They sometimes like to donate because it makes them look good since they are helping out for a good cause. Other than that when I went I know we tried to do a lot of fundraisers (bakesales, car washes, etc) so we could go out and buy the stuff ourselves and bring it.

Its also nice to bring any little toys you might have lying around because it makes the kids there super happy =) Have fun! Its super rewarding