In collaboration with Stephan Fiorillo, a trained dental technician who is responsible for the African market as Director Africa, and local specialists, Dr med. dent. Philipp Schneider carried out training and educational activities as well as dental treatments in Ghana. Dr med. dent. Philipp Schneider trained the outreach-team and provided professional and organizational assistance. Furthermore, he conducted training courses for two dentists as well as dental assistants at the clinic. These courses concentrated on the topics of prevention, direct restorative techniques and crown and bridge work. A fully equipped laboratory which was donated by Hans-Peter Spielmann, a dental technician from Zurich, four years ago fulfils the highest Swiss standards. Thanks to the technical training provided by Dr med. dent. Philipp Schneider, local people are now capable of producing modern tooth replacements in this lab. In future, African dental technicians will be trained there.
Our collaboration with the Richard Novati Catholic Hospital (RNCH) in Sogakofe, a small town in south-eastern Ghana, took centre stage during our assignment in Africa. This medical institution served as the base for our outreach team. Ivoclar Joy provided training for the clinic and laboratory staff, which was presented by Dr med. dent. Philipp Schneider as well as several other dental professionals, with the aim of establishing a more professional and efficient workflow between the clinic and the laboratory. We furthermore wanted to reduce product wastage resulting from poor techniques or inexperience. At the same time, we tried to optimize patient processes and patient management.
We were able to use our prevention program comprised of training and awareness-raising activities to educate learners at the New Jerusalem Basic School in Dodowa. The school is about three hours away from RNCH. Our awareness-building activities focused on the following topics: a healthy diet, the avoidance of foods containing refined sugar, effective tooth brushing techniques, as well as the importance of regular dental check-ups.