Dental health is a fundamental component of physical health. An important component of dental health care is preventive dentistry.
Typically, not much is known in developing nations about prevention in dentistry. On a normal missions trip, dentists perform tooth extractions, having only enough time to tackle the large scale need of extracting infected teeth to alleviate pain.
mPower Approach began when Dr. Charlie Vittitow created a system to train indigenous Christians to provide basic dental care to their own people as an extension of their ministries. As trainings happen, more and more trainees ask the important question, “But, how can the patient save their teeth?”
To answer this question, mPower Approach created a dental hygiene module to train indigenous Christians to clean teeth with dental instruments and educate the patients and community with oral health education.
The dental hygiene module, like with the dental module, allows the great need for dental hygiene treatment to be met year-round instead of five days a year when a dental team from the USA travels to the country. Instead of only pulling teeth, the Community Dental Hygiene Worker is able to help save the teeth of their patients. With training, the national believer is empowered to provide the needed treatment for their own community while using it to spread the Gospel. It is truly a wonderful opportunity to teach, serve, and empower others to take Jesus’s name to the ends of the Earth!