I'm here in Bolivia with my daughter G and her friend Julen who aspires to be a dental surgeon. This trip is life-changing for these teenagers.
When global economic turmoil, political unrest,
and personal grief make life feel heavy, I find my solace and purpose in my work at Smiles Forever in Bolivia. Today brought absolute joy as I visited a truly remarkable orphanage in Cochabamba where we are introducing silver diamine fluoride to their dental program.
Despite the severe political and economical crises the region has faced, this sanctuary stays strong. Huge congratulations to Director Emma for her tireless devotion .. you have given an immeasurable gift to these children and to our family.
Sandy Kemper, Smiles Forever Founder
The children are timid, but still reach out to hold hands with their new friends. Even with some language barriers, that difficulty evaporates when children are encouraged and praised for reading.
The tale leading up to the implementation of silver diamine fluoride treatments for young children really goes back to 2012. By 2017 SDF use was a well-established program with standardized protocols. Young children had been living with the pain of decayed teeth and there was no help from the Bolivian government. There was no incentive for Bolivian dentists to divide their time giving treatments to orphans, burn victims, children from abusive homes and so many other needy children. The problem was huge and could not be solved by doing a frequent program for checking the progress of these young children.
Then came the miracle of a coating treatment that could stop further decay. SDF as it's called was just visible on the horizon for dental care. As it came closer into view and cheaper and more accessible for the Cochabamba Dental clinic a plan was formulated. Children could be seen less often without risking further loss of teeth. SDF had great staying power and was safe and proven to be effective.
Sincere thanks to you our GlobalGiving worldwide family,
Sandy Kemper
