When Dr. Anita Thomas DDS requested 3-4 Titan Scalers along with replacement parts to take to Western Samoa in January 2020, DENTALEZ was glad to help. She has been going to Western Samoa for the past 4 years to provide dental care to a population that has little access to dental care. DENTALEZ donated 4 Titan Scalers for Dr. Thomas' trip to western Samoa. Dr. Thomas says, "I do this on my own as there is no dental organization that goes there. I also fund the travel, supplies and equipment on my own. The resort supplies my room and board. My equipment is stored at a resort on the south side of the island of Upolu. I set up my temporary dental clinic at the resort and see residents of that side of the island for 3 weeks throughout January and February.
Most patients I see have never seen a dentist before and dental home care has never been taught to them. The calcium buildup is massive. I have always taken Titan Scalers with me when I go there, and it gets quite a workout! Over the past 4 years, I have gotten to know the dentists at the hospital on the other side of the island and the dentist on the island of Savaii. They have very little equipment and no ultrasonic. I would like to leave one ultrasonic at the resort for my use each year (I must fly everything in and can carry only so much weight. The more I can leave there each time the more dental supplies I can fly in at each trip.)"
Dr. Thomas continues, "The dentist on the island of Savaii does not have an ultra-sonic. I would like to give him one and show him how to use it along with reviewing how to root plane and scale; and the remaining 2 Titan Scalers, I would like to give to the dentist in the Apia hospital. They are the dentists that see most of the patients on the island of Upolu."
One Titan was used at a temporary clinic at the south side of Upolu. Dr. Thomas says, "I saw 82 patients there and most all of them had never had their teeth cleaned before. Some of the patients had such a heavy buildup of calculus that we couldn't see the teeth on the lower anterior. I left the titan at this clinic for use next year. (I plan to take one or 2 dentists with me next year.)
One Titan was delivered to the main dental clinic at the hospital in Apia. I was able to show the hygienists and dental therapists there how to use and maintain it. The last 2 Titans were delivered to the only dental clinic on the island of Savaii. There are 65,000 people on this island and 2 dentists and 2 dental therapists. They did not have any type of scaler there at all. I also was able to teach them how to use the scaler and how to maintain it. I have heard from them that they are using it a lot on patients that have never had their teeth cleaned.
Thank you again for your donation. I am grateful that I was able to get the scalers in the hands of professions in Samoa that really needed them and will use them for a population that has limited dental care."
