Core Dental Initiatives
How we’re improving oral health across Grenada
Our Three Core Pillars
Each year, our volunteers provide essential dental care to children throughout Grenada.
Our work focuses on three key areas that create long-term impact:
Preventative Care that protects children from future decay
Restorative Treatment that relieves pain and restores smiles
Training of Local Professionals to build sustainable dental care on the island
Together, these pillars help us deliver care that is both immediate and lasting.
Preventative Care
Prevention is at the heart of what we do. Each child receives a complete dental exam, followed by cleaning and sealant placement when appropriate.
The sealant process is gentle and carefully done: first, we clean each tooth with a pumice paste to remove plaque and bacteria and smooth the surface. Next, a special gel is applied to the grooves for about 20 seconds, then rinsed off. The teeth are dried carefully because moisture control is key to making the sealants last. Finally, the sealant material is brushed into the grooves and hardened with a safe UV light. This simple intervention dramatically reduces future cavities, which in turn can prevent negative systemic health effects later in life.
Preventative care means fewer dental emergencies, less missed school, and healthier futures for the children we serve.
Restorative Treatment
When decay or damage is found, our restorative team works to relieve pain, stop infection, and preserve permanent teeth whenever possible. Treatment may include fillings, repairing chipped or fractured teeth, or extractions when a tooth cannot be saved. Here’s how we approach restorative care:
First, we examine each child to determine which teeth can be restored, giving priority to saving permanent teeth.
Loose, decayed primary (baby) teeth are often allowed to fall out naturally, but infected ones are gently extracted with parental permission.
For fractured front permanent teeth, we offer dental restoration, as restoring a child’s visible smile has an immediate emotional and social impact.
All procedures involving restorations or extractions use local anesthetic, and we maintain high standards of dental care in every mobile clinic.
Training Local Professionals
Building local capacity is essential for lasting impact. We work closely with Grenadian dentists, dental assistants, and dental therapists assigned by the National Dental Director.
Here’s how we do it:
Partnership & Training: We provide mission-specific guidance and hands-on teaching so local clinicians can learn alongside our volunteers.
Long-Term Involvement: Many local team members are returning volunteers from the communities we serve, which provides a great sense of giving back to their communities.
Supplying Tools: We donate dental supplies and equipment to support ongoing high-quality care to support ongoing work in Grenada.
Continuing Education: We also provide continuing education opportunities to local dentists, helping them grow professionally and adopt new, evidence-based techniques.
Healthier Smiles, Stronger Futures
Our preventative, restorative, and training efforts work together to:
Reduce long-term dental disease
Relieve immediate pain and infection
Improve children’s confidence
Strengthen local dental capacity
Create sustainable oral health in Grenada
These programs reflect our commitment to dignity, compassion, and community empowerment.
Make an Impact with Us
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