The South Australian Team provides dental care in the Long Tan region of the Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province. Dr Colin Twelftree established the polyclinic and dental surgeries in the area, which officially opened in 2006. In 2012/13, portable equipment was purchased with the support of the Dental Hygienists Association of Australia Inc and The International College of Dentists to provide treatment to preschool children. In 2014, Nui Dat kindergarten was included in the project. Since 2015, our team has provided dental care to children in the orphanage established by Ms My Huong, an Australian/Vietnamese ‘airlift baby’. In 2019, Dr Greg Miller was appointed as the Chairman of the SA dental team and the new president of Australia Vietnam Volunteers Resource Group Inc. (AVVRG).
Providing Treatment to the Community in the Long Tan Region of the Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province
We periodically visit the AVVRG Dental Clinic at Long Tan to assist locals with dental care. The Dental Care Team is currently pursuing an oral health care program in the region in conjunction with the local Department of Health. Practising dentists are always welcome to support this ongoing project. We now also have a mobile dental clinic with two sets of portable dental equipment. This enables the teams to travel to the schools surrounding Long Tan to provide dental care to the children.
Quality Projects Completed
In July 2018, our team provided dental treatment at Ba Ria Orphanage & the Disability Centre in Vung Tau, where many of the residents are disabled, with a large proportion of them being blind. The team was kindly assisted by 2 local medical doctors who donated their time and acted as translators, assistants, and guides. On July 16th, 2018, Dr Wynn Nguyen and Dr Melissa Arbabi, who represented the AVVRG, visited Tu An temple located in Ba Ria – Vung Tau to provide treatment to more than 150 underprivileged children with no regular access to dental care.
2023-2024 Program
Due to the pandemic, the project work got stalled, and our team was unable to visit and provide their services to the community of the Long Tan region of the Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province. Our team here in SA is passionately working towards organizing volunteers, coordinating the repair of equipment, and arranging consumables for the clinic. We are excited to restart the project and offer our services to the community of the Long Tan region and the surrounding area in 2023-2024.
