Ten students in their final year of the Medical University of Graz Dentistry program traveled to Nepal for a week in September with Barbara Kirnbauer, a senior physician at the Department of Dental Medicine and Oral Health and Vice Dean of Study Affairs at Med Uni Graz. Cooperation with Nepalese students and junior dentists in the heart of the Himalayas was the focus of the free elective "Dental Care in a Developing Country."
Dental medicine between rice fields and mountain peaks
The team from Graz provided on-site assistance with dental care in rural regions where skilled professionals and resources are scarce. Around 300 patients including 200 children were able to receive treatment in a temporary school clinic and at the local health care center. Using simple means, the students were able to relieve acute toothache, provide practical information and communicate important preventive measures.
"For our students, it was a formative experience to work under such simple conditions and at the same time to experience such gratitude," stresses Barbara Kirnbauer. "Such actions show how important international cooperation is—in education as well as in provision of care for people who urgently need assistance."
A long-standing successful partnership
Med Uni Graz has cooperated with Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences since 2009, and this cooperation was expanded to include dental medicine in 2019. The current project has been sponsored by Med Uni Graz and Erasmus+. Besides providing clinical care, Barbara Kirnbauer gave lectures on oral surgery and radiology at Dhulikhel Hospital.
The project not only provided the local population with urgently needed help but also gave the students valuable intercultural and professional experience. A continuation of the course has already been planned.
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