Dr Mmamolapi Molokwane makes dental surgery possible with the bare basics

Van Velden Hospital is situated in the Mopani District in Tzaneen and serves the surrounding communities and villages through its clinics and schools outreach programmes. The majority of patients are not working and cannot afford private healthcare, and sometimes they come from other districts for dental care.

The dental department at Van Velden Hospital has five dentists, one oral hygienist and three dental assistants. In 2020, the Discovery Foundation gave a Rural Institutional Award to the hospital's dental department to help train staff and expand its services to communities.

The department had received a Rural Institutional Award before, in 2011, which helped to provide training, supply better equipment and improve the existing facilities. It also increased staff morale. So, the department decided to apply for the award again in the hope that it would help the staff to provide slightly more advanced procedures to dental patients in the outlying rural areas.

"We are committed to serving our community here in rural Limpopo," says Dr Mmamolapi Molokwane, a dentist at Van Velden Hospital. She grew up in Soweto, trained at the University of the Western Cape, and is now back in Limpopo, where she was born.

Van Velden's dental healthcare workers don't only serve patients who come to the hospital. They also do outreach clinics in rural communities, and sometimes they have to improvise.

The realities of serving patients in remote areas

Villages and clinics don't have dental surgeries. So, how do these travelling dental healthcare workers cope?

"We provide basic extractions on a plastic chair, do oral health screening and education, and conduct a brushing programme for children in the schools and day-care centres," Dr Molokwane explains.

When asked about the difficulties of maintaining infection control for the procedures, she chuckles. "Sometimes, if there is no running water, we soak and wash the instruments in a bucket of water before taking them back to the hospital to sanitise properly."

She explains that they take along prepacked, sterile instruments in sealed packages, which is why they can only see 10 patients at each clinic at a time.

The only department that provides dentures

Van Velden Hospital has the only dental department in the district that provides dentures, so patients travel from Polokwane, Giyani and Phalaborwa for their artificial teeth.

"The dental department operates as a unit and there is a sense of pride in our work. Our teamwork makes the unit succeed," says Dr Molokwane. "Our team is highly motivated, and it manages to provide a high-quality service even in areas lacking basic infrastructure."

This team has also managed to secure equipment such as a dental chair, a fridge and storage cupboards through donations from the staff and outside companies.

Hopes and plans for the future

As the costs of private dentistry increase, Dr Molokwane is noticing a steady increase in patient numbers and a demand for a wider scope of services.

"We aspire to expand our scope of practice and the services that we can provide to our community," she explains. "Further staff training, functional diagnostic equipment and better infrastructure will enable us to provide top dental services for our community."

This article was created for the 2020 Discovery Foundation Awards and has been edited for the Discovery Magazine.