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NEWS
2nd May 2013

Namche Dental Clinic

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The Namche Dental Clinic was founded in 1991 with support from the American Himalayan Foundation (USA). The clinic, set up and run by Canadian trained dentist Nawang Doka Sherpa, treats locals and tourists alike. This fulfilled a dream of providing dental care for Sherpas by Sherpas. Since its foundation it has treated more than 35,000 patients.

Mrs Nawang Doka Sherpa also engages in health promotion programmes within schools and the local community to try to improve oral health in general. The clinic is supported by donations from eternal organisations such as the American Himalayan Foundation, the Everest Marathon, and the Portland, Oregan Rotary club, as well as local community groups. Patients are charged for treatment on the basis of their ability to pay. So, those in most need are still able to get treatment.

Mrs Nawang Doka Sherpa has noticed a change in attitude to treatment since she first set the clinic up. Originally, patients were keen to have their teeth extracted the moment any cavities occurred. Now, they have come to trust the idea of having these cavities filled instead in order to preserve teeth.

The dentist manages to deliver high quality care with equipment that was donated when the clinic was first established. This could be a problem in the short term as her light source is so old that bulbs are no longer available for it. When this bulb goes the light will be unusable.

Another issue is power. The Namche region will be undergoing a major refurbishment of the hydroelectric station starting in two weeks. This will result in a power cut, lasting four months. Without power, the dental clinic will not be able to function, so Xtreme Everest 2 have donated one of their Honda generators from the Namche Laboratory to ensure that the local population can continue to receive high quality dental care.



Namche Dental Clinic

Created 2nd May 2013
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