PROGRAMS :: Borderless-dentists

OUR PROGRAMS

Migrant Learning Centers

Since 1988, large numbers of refugees have sought asylum in Thailand. It is no surprise that, over the last 20 years, a new generation of children were born. Regrettably, refugees born in Thailand have no nationality. Moreover, there were not any educational facilities.
Thanks to support from charitable Thai enterprises and NGOs, migrant learning centers were established for those children in the areas close to the border. Apparently there are more than 50 centers in the Mae Sot region alone. In learning centers where student numbers are low, there are approximately 40 students. At centers where the role numbers are high, students can number more than 1000. We started to visit these learning centers in 2010, and at that time commenced simple preventative treatments such as dental examinations, extraction of baby teeth, and scaling.

However, the reality is that we are unable to treat everyone. This is due to the overwhelming number of children. Furthermore, the oral health of these children is poor, and our examinations show tooth decay in the lower first molar in over 40% of students between the ages of six and fifteen. Even if these children are aware of their decayed teeth, they are not in an environment where they can easily get treatment from a dentist. Tooth decay means the loss of teeth.

⇒Please visit this page　（Dental condition data by PDF）

OUR PROGRAMS

REFUGEE CAMPS AND MEDICAL FACILITIES

The refugee camps are administered by the Thai government and people are not free to enter or leave at will. Those who enter the camps are supplied with food and a minimum level of other necessities, but they are not allowed to leave at will and cannot freely look for employment. Moreover, NGOs who provide assistance at the camps are not allowed to operate unless they gain permission from the Thai Ministry of Interior.
It has become possible for us to conduct dental treatments over and above tooth extraction, by partnering with the French organization, PU-AMI, which is already authorized by the Ministry of Interior to provide medical treatment to the three refugee camps

The Mae Tao Clinic (MTC) was established in 1989 as a free treatment clinic for refugees. Since then, many patients from Myanmar (Burma) have come to depend on the clinic, and among them are patients who walk for several weeks to get there. Dental treatment began at MTC in 2001. At that time tooth extraction was carried out at the surgery department.　Previously, a small number of pioneering dentists visited the Mae Tao Clinic as volunteers. From 2009, a Japanese dentist named Dr. Takayuki Abe (known as Taka) began to provide the clinic with dental devices and assisted with making dentures. From 2013 this cooperative framework will continue as a newly formed organization called "Borderless Dentists". Currently, we mainly cooperate to train staff at the dental treatment. The volunteered trainees will get training opportunities for both basic and clinical dental treatments in a short period. Some will stay at MTC, some will go to the refugee camps, and some will return to the villages along the Thai-Myanmar border to be assigned for the dental treatment. Furthermore, we decided to support not only for MTC but also a small medical clinic at the border area. The long and wide border area needs more medical facilities.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Nov and Dec, 2019

The 6th Dental Care Training started in Nov in Mae Tao Clinic. In the end of Dec, all trainees got success and we held a closing ceremony.

⇒Facebook

Aug, 2019

International volunteers from Mexico and Hong Kong.

We visited 5 schools for providing dental service and soup kitchen.

⇒MORE

Aug, 2018

International volunteers from Holland, Spain and Hong Kong. We visited schools to provide dental care to those in need.

⇒MORE

Nov and Dec, 2017

The 5th Dental Care Training in Mae Tao Clinic. 23 trainees recieved dental training for 2 months. All trainees successfully the training and we held a closing ceremony.

⇒Facebook