Taking dental care to Vietnam

In 1983, Jamie Robertson spent two months at a UNHCR camp in the Philippines providing dental care for Vietnamese asylum seekers who had crossed the South China Sea. This was Dr Robertson’s first encounter with voluntary work. 

“Frankly, I thought I’d probably never meet any Vietnamese people in my life again,” he reflects. 

Fast forward to 2012, and Dr Robertson is preparing for his annual journey to Vietnam – a country he has visited repeatedly over the past 20 years to deliver dental health programs. 

Fourth year Bachelor of Dental Science student Mimi Huynh will join Dr Robertson on his upcoming trip. The two will be participating in the Rotary Australia-Vietnam Dental Health (RAVDH) Project, which was established by Dr Robertson in 1992 to improve oral health and aid health promotion in Vietnam. 

Each year, a group of dental health practitioners travels to rural villages as part of this project, providing primary dental care for children and working to improve local school-based disease prevention programs. 

Ms Huynh was selected to take part in the project as part of her Bachelor of Dental Science course at the Melbourne Dental School. Each year, one undergraduate student is offered the opportunity to participate in the program, completing a research project upon their return. 

The RAVDH carries particular significance for Ms Huynh. Originally from Vietnam, she was motivated to apply for the program after witnessing first-hand the barriers facing oral health care provision in the region. Ms Huynh and her family spent several years living in a refugee camp before travelling to Australia – an experience that fuelled Ms Huynh’s passion for dentistry. 

“In a refugee camp, oral health is one of the areas that is most often overlooked,” Ms Huynh says. “It’s a similar situation in rural and remote regions.

“I always knew I would return to Vietnam to provide dental care for those who need it most, but I never imagined I’d have the opportunity to do so as part of my undergraduate degree.” 

She anticipates that one of the biggest challenges she will face will be working in an under-resourced setting, combined with the cultural and language barriers associated with working in a foreign country. 

“I’m hoping to develop skills that will enable me to work effectively in a resource-poor environment. I’m also passionate about working with children, so I’m looking forward to helping them access the much-needed dental care they deserve,” says Ms Huynh.

“I want to make sure I communicate effectively. We want to work with and try to enhance the capacity of teachers and the local workforce, so communication, whether it’s verbal or non-verbal, will be vital.”

Dr Robertson says the experience has been invaluable for students who have previously taken part. 

“This opportunity enriches their lives enormously. Every single student has thrived on the experience and has subsequently excelled academically. They’ve developed a more rounded view of what it is to be a health professional, rather than being someone who is trained only to work in private practice.”

Since its early beginnings, the RAVDH project has been grown by Dr Robertson to include associations with the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. 

In 2010, the RAVDH, the Oral Health CRC and the Nossal Institute for Global Health hosted a symposium on Vietnam-Australian oral health initiatives. The symposium strengthened relations between oral health institutions in Australia and Vietnam and resulted in a collaborative effort to encourage and support student exchange visits between the two countries. 

This initiative has so far been a success, with two students from the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology in Ho Chi Minh City visiting Melbourne and rural Victoria in August this year. Dr Robertson expects this exchange program will continue in 2013 and may include students from specialist disciplines. 

While Dr Robertson’s inspiring repertoire of volunteer activities also includes a number of local projects – such as the establishment of an on-site dental clinic at Port Phillip Specialist School and a new collaboration with the Royal Flying Doctor Service in rural Victoria – he points to the very real opportunity to effect lasting change in Vietnam as the driving force behind his ongoing commitment to the RAVDH project. 

“There is a need there,” he says. “There are many places where the need may be equally great, but in Vietnam that need is matched by an intellectual curiosity and a passionate desire on the part of the Vietnamese people to improve themselves – with a little help from their friends.”

www.dent.unimelb.edu.au