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Update on Ghana

On a trip to Ghana, Africa, Dr. Rick Meyers learned that the dental school desired to start a dental technology program. The dental school laboratory at that time was only capable of making orthodontic appliances and dentures. All porcelain fused to metal crowns was sent to Benin, a country to the east of Ghana.

In February 2004, Dr. Meyers asked Mr. David Payne, a member of the Church, to head up a project to set up a crown and bridge laboratory with the necessary equipment, supplies, and training for porcelain fused to metal fabrication. The goal was to teach the skill of making crowns and bridges at the school. Ghana has an unemployment rateof 70 percent. Being able to fabricate crowns and bridges in-country would provide jobs as well as keep these funds in their own country.

Mr. Payne, through the help of friends, developed a four-page color prospectus that was mailed throughout the United States to dental supply houses, manufactures of dental laboratory products, and those who might give monetary donations. After many e-mails and faxes, donations of supplies finally started coming in.

A major donation came from Keystone Industries in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. During the winter, the roof of one of their warehouses caved in, partially damaging the supplies and equipment that were stored there. Some of the material was salvageable and the company offered them for use in Ghana. To Mr. Payne’s surprise and delight the supplies and equipment filled a semitruck trailer! This was indeed an enormous blessing. Almost everything needed was included in this one donation.

The big problem to overcome was getting the laboratory supplies to Ghana. Mr. Payne contacted Mrs. Edington of Globus Relief Fund. Again there was another miracle. Mrs. Edington had a container that was already scheduled for Ghana. Globus Relief Fund would be able to box and bundle two pallets for the dental laboratory project at no charge (2,000 pounds each). Fortunately, Keystone Industries was more than happy to have the supplies shipped to Globus Relief in Salt Lake. Their very large donation was joined with the various smaller ones.

There was more to this project than just supplies and equipment. The goal was to establish a dental laboratory training program. After many dead ends, Mr. Payne finally contacted Mr. Dana B. Cohen at the Los Angeles City College. By permission of the school’s supervisor, Mr. Cohen gave Mr. Payne their complete dental laboratory technology curriculum and books. This was only possible because it was going to Africa and would not be in competition with the Los Angeles City College.

Mr. Payne and Dr. Ron Tobler then traveled to Ghana and spent two weeks teaching Mr. Glover and Mr. Adu at the Ghana Dental School how to pin and base models, trim and prepare dies, wax copings, invest, metal finish, opaque, and stack porcelain. Mr. Adu and Mr. Glover already had an overall understanding of all these concepts, and Mr. Payne helped to refine their skills. He said, “The simple things made the biggest difference. The die trimming needed to be refined, their metal needed to be thinned down, contours and anatomy corrected, but the basics were there.”

Teaching took place in the clinic as well. Dr. Tobler helped the last-year dental students do a least one crown preparation before they graduated, and also worked with one graduate student. None of the students except the graduate student had done a crown preparation on a patient. Dr. Gordon Christensen generously donated five video presentations. The students learned much from the videos and were very grateful for Dr. Christensen’s generosity. Dr. Tobler was able to show the tapes as part of his lectures and discussions.

The dental school is hoping another visiting clinical dentist will come in 2005. They have asked for additional help with endodontics, adhesive dentistry, and periodontics. The dental school also has a mobile unit which could be used for dental outreach if a dental team were to come to teach prevention and children’s dentistry under the auspices of the dental school.

Mr. Payne, Dr. Tobler, and the Academy of LDS Dentists extend a warm thank-you to the companies and individuals for the supplies and monetary donations:
MDL Dental Products, Inc.; Buffalo Dental Mfg; Dental Ventures of America, Inc.; Air Techniques; Bonner Industries; Keystone Industries; Dental Lab Services; Econotek; SS White Burs; Patterson Dental Supply, Inc.; Los Angeles City College; Globus Relief Fund; Dr. Charles Brown; Dr. Mozafari; Avalon Dentistry; Brian Andre; Ken Hoagland; and Lois Payne.

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