Aleah Thorp Uganda
Going back to Uganda for the 2nd time, I was apprehensive as I didn’t know if the experience would live up to how the first trip was. That one impacted me in a way that I could never have imagined. From travelling the country and interacting with the patients, I did not realise how lucky we are in the UK with the way that we live. The patients that we saw were so grateful for the work that we did. They all welcomed us with a huge smile on their face despite how underserved their communities are. A lot of patients had travelled miles for our clinics on foot and patiently waited hours to be seen as for some, our clinics are their only source of access to dental care.
This time around, we were a team of 12 – 4 dentists (Mark, Bilal, Kate & Andrea), 2 dental therapists (Sarah & Grace), 1 dental hygienist (Hannah), 4 dental nurses (myself, Linda, Maddi and Liz) and our team leader Gail. During the trip we also worked alongside a team of Ugandan dentists. These were Boaz, Ambrose, Andrew, Sam and Joseph. We also had Richard who was on decontamination for us and our driver Stevie also travelled around with us.
The first three days saw us complete clinics at an orphanage, a youth rehabilitation centre and a church. During that time we saw 356 patients, performed 110 extractions and 54 fillings, along with 107 topical flouride applications and 42 scales.
At the church, many of the patients that we saw didn’t require treatment and only complained of sensitivity. This community is regularly visited by Dentaid and therefore shows that our clinics in Uganda are having a positive impact!
Day four, also at a church, was exceptionally quiet as the Archbishop was visiting a nearby church for a communion service. A group of us did however go out to a nearby school to deliver oral health advice and hand out toothpaste and toothbrushes.
By contrast, we visited Rugarama Father’s House on day six, a community project supporting vulnerable individuals, and this clinic day was extremely busy resulting in a later than usual finish. All patients that had turned up to be were all seen, no one was turned away! We saw 190 people in all on one day. The community were thankful for the work we carried out and wrote us an appreciation letter.
One of our dentists within our trip had also paid in advance for a large batch of lunch to be cooked for all of the adults and children within the community which was hugely appreciated!
For our final three clinic days we visited two male prisons and saw 559 patients in that time, performing 208 extractions, 139 fillings, 160 topical flouride applications and 85 scales.
It can be tough visiting the prison as in Uganda, you could be waiting up to 7 years for a court date therefore there may be many prisoners within here which could be innocent and just awaiting a court date.
In total over the space of 9 clinic days and travelling around the South/East of Uganga, we saw 1309 patients and completed: 548 extractions, 216 fillings, 312 fluoride applications and 157 scales.
We also had the opportunity to visit Boaz’s house for Dinner one night with his family and also Andrew’s house for dinner one night with his family which was a lovely act of kindness showing just how much the Ugandan dentists think of us! We also attended dinner at George’s House one evening. George works within a church within one of the communities that we regularly hold clinics at.
Thank you so much to everyone who contributed towards this trip. I wouldn’t have been able to have done it without you!
The second trip was just as amazing as the first trip. Words cannot explain how rewarding this trip was and how amazing it was to see the positive impact that our group was doing overseas.
Written by Aleah Thorp – Dental Nurse – Feburary 2026