I’m Getting my DENTISTRY ON….

After an extensive search for the best dentist in The Gambia, I found him. Dr. M. George is one the best dentist’s in The Gambia. He studied dentistry in the UK, and he also studied Public Health in the U.S. at Johns Hopkins. Dr. George has been practicing since 1972, and he owns 3 dental practices in The Gambia. The first day I arrived, Dr. George would not allow me to work with him until I showed him my ID and my resume. After he received both, he was more than happy to mentor me and show me what he loves to do: dentistry. Dr. George’s practice is very different than the practice I visited in Sukuto. His materials and resources are very similar to the U.S. He used anesthetics, needles, and his equipment is in very good condition. Because The Gambia has limited resources, many things such as white resin (fill-ins) and crown, are hand made before being applied to the patients mouth. When I say handmade, for example, there is a liquid and a powder that are combined to form resin then applied. However, in the U.S., this has already been combined and it is only applied. Also, a lot of their supplies are rinsed and reused instead of thrown away because they cannot afford them in abundance. One thing that I observed was that the dentist did not have a dental hygienist or a dental assistant; he had a dental nurse who had been trained on the job. One sanitary issue that bothered me was that the dental nurse did not wear gloves, nor did she wash her hands regularly. When I would inquire about different substances, she would just hand then to me to touch. This would never happen in the U.S. I understand that they do things differently here, but at the end of the day these people are getting the proper treatment from a good dentist.

One day, Dr. George took me to another one of his clinics in another town to shadow an orthodontist for about 5 hours. This was very interesting to me because this is one specialization that I have never been exposed to in the U.S. yet. Therefore, I could not make many comparisons. The orthodontist was from Senegal, he has a private practice in Senegal and he teaches there also; he comes to The Gambia every 6 weeks to do work. I learned a lot from him; he spent most of his time teaching me anatomy of the mouth.

One very interesting thing about shadowing here is that I am not alone. I meet a girl name Amna from Canada who traveled here to shadow Dr. George also. She is also an aspiring dental student who has a serious passion for dentistry. Amna is very nice and we do all our shadowing together, we exchange ideas and questions with each other. I am truly happy to have met someone who shares this same passion.