Need for Oral Hygiene

It was summer of 2002 and schools had closed for the vacations. I, being a Govt. School Health Dentist was sitting idle in my clinic. Suddenly Pingalwara popped up in my mind. I had visited it once before and had realized the need of oral health care of the Residents. I was soon in the premises examining the Residents properly.

The oral hygiene was pitiable; Bleeding, Gums, Caries and Foul smell mostly due to lack of awareness on the part of the care givers; side effects of the diseases & drugs and the inability of the Residents to take care of themselves. I talked to Bibi Dr. Inderjit Kaur (President of All India Pingalwara Charitable Society (Regd.), Amritsar ) about the dire need of providing daily health care & treatment. Previously the Residents were taken to Dental College for treatment when needed. After initial hiccups and resistance, I was allowed to be a part of the health faculty. The daunting tasks were the daily oral health care. The over worked care givers were reluctant to the very idea of brushing the teeth of the inmates twice daily. I had to motivate them by giving dental awareness and emphasizing the importance of the dental health of the inmates in particular and that of the general public. Finally, they agreed.

The first battle was won. I made proper record of the inmates of the institute. After putting them on medication and oral hygiene program the result were dramatic. Within weeks the bleeding had stops, foul smell vanished and the teeth wore shining. It was a great motivation for all of us. This got us thinking of setting up a dental clinic in the premises of Pingalwara. As luck would have It., the President had a call from a Donor from UK who wanted to setup a health facility at Pingalwara. Instantly she called me up and chalked out a project for dental facilities. It was such a relief and nothing short of a miracle for us.

Mr. Gurmeet Singh Pannu ( London ), Elder son of (Late) Mata Surjit Kaur, helped us with funds to setup a latest state of the art dental clinic in the memory of his mother. It was inaugurate on 27-06-2006.

Dr. Aadesh Manchanda

It is one of its kind and one of the very few dental clinics in a mental institute in the world. The carious teeth are filled using ART technique (Atraumatic Restorative Treatment pioneered by Dr. Dr. Jo Frencken WHOCC Nijemegen, The Netherlands). Here the inmates are treated five days a week and one day is reserved for the employees. I visit the clinic once a week and a regular dedicated dentist with an assistant looks after the inmates who are now being provided full dental care.      -- Dr. Jasmine Nanda

Mr. Vishavbandhu Raju

The dentists presently working in the Clinic: