Solid business partnerships are built upon a sense of mutual respect, shared beliefs, and a willingness to work together to achieve things that wouldn’t otherwise be possible in silo (or at least they’d be much much harder!). One of the key things that is shared between us and our key customer Hume Pine is a belief that our community is our responsibility. A couple of weeks ago we were stoked to team up with Hume Pine to sponsor the YWAM Trinity Koha Dental Programme in Rotorua for a week-long clinic of free dental care for that community. For so many in our communities, dental care is either not prioritised or feels somewhat out of reach. Limited finance, a fear of dentistry, the shame of not having visited the dentist for a long time or a general lack of knowledge around the importance of oral hygiene are some of the reasons for this.
Over the course of 5 days, 3 dentists treated 79 patients with a range of symptoms, many needing multiple days to complete their treatment. In total, 188 teeth were extracted, with 89 fillings and a number of crown and bridge treatments performed. As well as the dental treatments provided, the Trinity Koha team were also able to bring 20 school-aged kids through for a tour of the dental containers. They each had a chance to sit in the dental chair and talk through the importance of oral hygiene as well as receiving toothbrushes and toothpaste to take home to their families.
Some of the feedback we received from patients treated throughout the week;
“Thank you for the dental work, now I’m one step closer to getting my new smile! Nga mihi!”
“This has helped me a lot, [I’ve] been waiting for 3 years to get my teeth pulled out but could not afford it. The choice was between my pain and kids new shoes or family holidays. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to improve my oral health. The team was very welcoming and the best staff I have seen at dental clinics.”
“Thank you for giving me a chance to finally do something about my teeth, I’m now more confident when smiling and I don’t have to be in pain!”
It is hard not to be pumped about an initiative when you receive feedback like this. We want to thank Hume for partnering with us on this initiative and also the Trinity Koha dental team who directly impacted the lives of so many in the Rotorua community that week, all of whom were so grateful for the treatment they received and blown away by the impact it would have on their quality of life and confidence with an increased ability to eat/sleep and a significant reduction of pain and worry for a lot of them.