Key Points
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Highlights the benefits of OUT for improving access to emergency dental care in rural populations in developing countries.
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Describes how collaboration between local government and an NGO can lead to the effective training of local healthcare workers to provide emergency care.
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Provides an overview of a volunteering programme which is ethical, responsible and contributes to local sustainability.
Abstract
Oral health is recognised as a fundamental contributor to general health. In many developing countries resources are scarce and access to oral healthcare is often limited, particularly in rural areas. An approach to solving the problem of providing oral healthcare in developing nations is the Basic Package of Oral Care (BPOC), which promotes the community-oriented promotion of oral health and affordable and effective interventions. The aim of this paper is to focus on one component of the BPOC, by presenting a model for the provision of a local training programme of oral urgent treatment (OUT), delivered by volunteers, in a region of North West Tanzania.
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Wilson, K., Wilson, I. & Holmes, R. Oral urgent treatment (OUT) – a volunteer led training programme in North West Tanzania. Br Dent J 212, 443–448 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2012.365
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2012.365
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