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DOVE Dental Overseas Voluntary Electives

The Dental Overseas Voluntary Elective (DOVE) forms an integral part of the fourth dental year, with many students contributing time and hard work in a bid to raise funds to help finance what will no doubt be a life-changing experience.

The DOVE committee organise various fund-raising events throughout the year, ranging from Tasty Tuesdays, where they sell baked goods in the common room of the Dublin Dental Hospital, to the world-famous-in-the-Dental-Hospital Panto!

Proceeds from all DOVE fund-raising events go towards sending the DOVE members overseas to volunteer in some of the world’s more impoverished locations, to provide dental care to those that need it most.

Death defying stunts & amazing ball skills were some of the talents that were on show at the inaugural Mr. Dent competition 2014. The event was presided over by Ms Deirdre Coffey. The judges on the night were Andrew Keane, Niamh O’ Grady & Aodh Mc Grainne. The winner was 5th year Michael “Hurricane” Hayes’, whose skill with the rubber dam and undeniable proficiency in the use of KY Gel won over the hearts and minds of everyone on the night! DOVE would like to thank the contestants and all who made it possible on the night.

2013 DOVE Destinations

This year, one group from within the DOVE society will carry out their elective in Cambodia under the supervision of local dentist Dr Monika Suorn. Dr Suorn works in conjunction with a french charity, Enfants d'Asie . The elective will involve travelling through rural provinces by bus to visit orphanages. It is expected that the DOVE group will assess and treat approximately 700 children as well as the staff who care for them. The group will be working with two Khmer dental students and assisted by a dental nurse.

The second DOVE group will be travelling to Juazeiro, Ceara state, Brazil. There will be two dental students liaising with Dr Haniery Alves in his clinic in Juazeiro, and with a mobile clinic. This elective was undertaken by a group from the Trinity School of Dental Science and Dublin Dental University Hospital two years ago. It is great to see DOVE return to the same sites to provide more assistance and to establish links which we hope will be on-going. The aim of this particular elective is to travel through the surrounding community, with emphasis on the poorer localities, an orphanage and the local schools. The work involved is likely to be emergency care, basic dental care and a lot of oral hygiene instruction. This group hopes that they can make a small difference in the oral health of the locality and that they can increase their knowledge in an entirely different dental setting.

The third group of DOVE students is a group of six girls who are travelling to Roatan, Honduras this Summer. They will be volunteering at La Clinica Esperanza for two weeks where they will volunteer in two different surgeries. They will also visit the local primary schools to provide education on oral health and dental screening assessment. La Clinica Esperanza provides low cost/no cost medical and dental care to the people of Roatan and the group are all looking forward to helping the clinic sustain this valuable resource on the island. It is critical the clinic receives volunteers who are eager to help and learn every year in order to allow the clinic to continue to provide these healthcare services. We are eager to increase our knowledge of dentistry in a resource poor environment.

Two fourth-year volunteers chose St Vincent's and the Grenadines as their elective destination. The School of Dental Science and Dublin Dental University Hospital would like to wish all the DOVE students the very best as they set off on these worthwhile expeditions.