Gabrielle Jenks Cambodia

I first became interested in volunteering whilst training to be a dental nurse. I had to do research on charities relating to dentistry and I came across Dentaid. I did a presentation on them, from there I continued to reserch and in 2023 I applied to go to Cambodia with the team.

Fundraising was a struggle, I did feel a lot of pressure as it is a lot of money to raise but my work, family and friends were so generous that i ended up exceeding the amount! I did a skydive, bake sales and work did a raffle with different prices, hygienist visit, whitening and oral health kit. I would do it every single year if it wasn’t for having to raise such a massive amount, as it’s a lot to ask of family or friends.

I absolutely loved Cambodia, the country is so wonderful and has such amazing things to do and see! My favorite part was definitely the people, Cambodian people are so kind, welcoming and very grateful it made the experience so much better for me. Cambodia definitely is run down but that still doesn’t take away from the special place it has in my heart.

We had a lovely Cambodian dental nurse who helped us set up and would help retrieve or decontaminate the equipment, the room was all set up ready for the day with about five chairs, a small side table from equipment, and a motor for each chair, which was handy.

Once the day had started we had a Cambodian dentist who would create the treatment plans as the patients would wait, once the treatment plan was ready I would collect it along with the patient and take them to the dentist where we would look over it and begin treatment. We had dental students who would help us translate, they were extremely helpful.

In terms of the treatment we provided, there was a good mix of treatment including extraction, fillings, fissure sealants, and fluoride application. The set up was similar to a surgery back home, we would use the exact same equipment as at work.

The main difference was that there was no way to prepare for specific patients so they could be anything you could get next so you could only set up when you knew what treatment was going to be completed.

Everyone was extremely grateful, they were so easy to treat being so co-operative, always seemed so grateful to everyone involved, this is one thing that made the working experience so nice, feeling appreciated.

I know it sounds cliché but I loved everything about the trip from the start to the finish. I made such incredible friends, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone as I am quite a shy person and I feel like I have flourished, I’m pushing myself more and more since the trip.

The group I went with was the best possible group, I am so lucky to have met them all! A massive shout out to overseas co-ordinators Gail and Jude because I could not have done it without them, they were like my second mums looking after me!

I got to help treat so many people and help people get out of pain or who haven’t ever seen a dentist and this for me was exactly what I went for.

The experience has made me want to do more volunteering. It’s made me realise how fortunate we are, we don’t realise just how lucky we are and to be able to share that and help other people is such a wonderful feeling. It has made me want to progress in my career and has changed me for the better. If money were no object, I would do at least one overseas trip a year.