Project Yeti Is Back in Action

Following a hiatus of 3years due to COVID, a team of 7 volunteers returned to the clinic in Kopan Monastery. The easing of travel restrictions worldwide paved the way for the visit.

The team had an international flavour. A dentist from Wales, another from Texas and a third from India joined the group of four from Australia. Together we examined 181 monks and nuns and filled 279 teeth, extracted 62 and completed 35 scaling and cleans.

Amazingly all the equipment was functional except for one 1980 vintage Statim autoclave. The old materials and obsolete equipment were ruthlessly disposed off and the clinic restocked and updated. The nurses Lynne, Melinda assisting Gemma worked tirelessly to catalogue the materials in order to take the organisation of the clinic to a new level.

Fortunately the strict COVID lockdown in the monastery had been relaxed just prior to our visit. This enabled us to enjoy a beer as we wound down after work at a nearby café.

The young monks and nuns were incredibly compliant patients which enabled us to complete many fillings at their first ever visit to a dentist. The decay rate amongst the newest 8 year old monks was very high due to their poor diet before entering the monastery. In the next visit we hope to catch up with all the backlog of treatment and free up time to spend on education and prevention.