Dental Camp Restoring Smiles and Providing Care to Two Elders’ Homes
Following a request made by two elders’ homes, afi cares sought to provide dental care services to the St. Mary’s Home for the Elderly located at T.B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10 and the Lady Fareed Home for Elders located at Makola, Gampaha. The elders residing in these care homes face immense challenges when accessing medical services due to mobility issues. Furthermore, most are unaware that they require frequent medical check-ups in order maintain a healthy lifestyle. As such, the need to bring medical professionals and services to the elders at their respective elders’ homes was deeply felt by afi so as to improve their health and well-being.
Objectives
This project aimed to:
- Improve the health, comfort, and overall well-being of vulnerable elderly communities in Sri Lanka;
- Enhance access to essential oral healthcare services for elders facing mobility, financial, and social barriers;
- Improve the quality of life of elderly residents by relieving pain, restoring comfort, and renewing confidence through accessible dental care.
Implementation Methodology
The project was planned and executed in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka. Through their mobile dental service, afi facilitated the provision of essential dental care services such as dental filling and scaling.
The team initially reached out to the Ministry of Health proposing the project and simultaneously planned the implementation of the project at the premises of each elders’ home. The mobile dental bus allowed elders to access direct dental care and professionals at the comfort of their care homes. The care homes were selected on the basis of the requirements of the elders residing. The team actively engaged with the management of the two care institutions along with the Ministry of Health to ensure smooth implementation of the project.
Outcomes
Afi cares was able to provide dental checkups, dental cleaning, and dental filing services to the elders of the two care homes, drastically improving their oral health and general well-being. By facilitating the provision of these services to the elders, afi cares ensured the inclusion of vulnerable individuals, and worked towards improving their health including their physical and mental well-being.
Challenges
As certain elders face extreme mobility issues, they were unable to access dental cleaning services which can only be provided within the mobile dental bus. Instead, they benefited from dental check-ups and dental filings outside the mobile dental bus.