The opportunity to work overseas is a dream for many dental health professionals.
When Dental Health Services Victoria announced the opportunity for five professionals to travel to the Solomon Islands and Tonga to foster dental health partnerships abroad, many jumped at the chance.
Only five professionals were chosen; remarkably, three were staff from GV Health.
GV Health dentist David Whelan and oral health educators Morgan Wyatt and Stephanie Veal were awarded the Colin Riley scholarship, an opportunity they said they were honoured to receive.
“It was humbling to receive the scholarship,” Dr Whelan said.
“I knew Colin well, as I did dentistry with Colin and we were in the same year at uni, so I was very pleased to be chosen.”
Dr Whelan and Ms Wyatt travelled to the Solomon Islands in a program designed to relieve tooth pain.
“We got close to 400 people out of tooth pain as we extracted teeth, helped with abscesses and applied treatments designed to stop decay, which will help every child in the schools that we saw prevent decay for years to come,” Ms Wyatt said.
Spending just over a week abroad, the dental health professionals described their experience as memorable.
“It’s pretty amazing to have three people from GV Health chosen to go,” Ms Wyatt said.
“Dr David and I were lucky enough to go to a special school for children that are deaf or have learning difficulties, which was quite far away.
“We had to take four-wheel drives through river crossings to get to the school, and it was rewarding helping people that would not have had the opportunity or funds to see a dentist — which was special.”
While Dr Whelan and Ms Wyatt were in the Solomon Islands, Ms Veal volunteered her time in Tonga.
“The purpose of my trip was to network and create partnerships with the Tongan dental clinic,” Ms Veal said.
“We donated a dental truck and set it up ready for them to use.
“We also donated a fully equipped dental van that contained $10,000 worth of instruments and consumables and set that up for them, and they were so happy to receive that.”
Ms Veal said the van would be used in schools and remote villages to service people who otherwise could not access a dentist.
“We were also present at the tooth-brushing MaliMali program,” she said.
“Every morning, the children would line up with their toothbrushes and their water bottles in a long line, and the joy on their faces as they brushed their teeth was priceless.
“We thank DHSV because it supported the whole trip, and we couldn’t have gone without it and achieved what we did.”