The 'Newton Wickham Auckland Dental Association Trust' (NWADAT) was set up 13 years ago having recognized the need for charitable dental aid to assist Dr. Newton Wickham in the care of the underprivileged in overseas countries, especially the pacific island nations.

The Trust was a partnership between Dr Wickham (deceased) and the Auckland Dental Association (ADA). Dr Wickham was passionate about dentistry, particularly the pastoral care of dental professionals and as he was a great traveler and supporter of dental aid overseas.

Over the last twelve years the Trust has supported numerous international dental projects in places such as Cambodia, Nepal, India and our neighbors in the pacific. This has been achieved by offering expertise from volunteers, financial assistance and provision of dental products and small dental equipment from our storage shed in East Auckland.

The trustees have decided to establish a base for voluntary dental work in the Pacific. Between 201 2 and 201 3, several scoping missions were completed with the trustees visiting the area at their own expense. This was to determine whether there was a need and desire for that type of voluntary dental project and over what time period it would run. As a result, the trustees have chosen Lautoka, Fiji as the most appropriate site to start with. It became clear to the team that since the mid 1 980s, Fijian infrastructure has fallen well behind. The present population would really benefit from the establishment of a local base for NZ registered dentists to provide voluntary dental work.
There would be beneficial outcomes including improved patient treatments, teaching and learning opportunities, the feel-good factor of 'giving back'- and of course the chance to work then stay on for a few days in a tropical paradise and enjoy a break from the rigorous of everyday dentistry.

A dedicated team of dental professionals has spent the last year determining the best way to manage and deliver this care. They have come UP with a mutually beneficial proposition for a partnership with the Ministry of Health, Fiji that involves refurbishing a dental surgery within the confines of Lautoka Dental Hospital. Smiles For The Pacific will operate from this surgery Utilizing the expertise of a rotating group of volunteer dental professionals from NZ. There could be an opportunity to be involved with a local Health Centre that has set UP recently to provide free medical care and they are keen to add dental treatment to their range of services.

The Smiles for The Pacific project centers around the concept of providing free dental treatment, especially those cases which are too difficult for the local dentists (ie. saving teeth that may otherwise be extracted). This way we get to share our knowledge and also UP skill the local practitioners by showing them techniques that they may not have been exposed to. We will also endeavor to send some dental specialists who will be able to mentor local dentists in other beneficial procedures.

There may also be situations where visiting dentists or specialists can provide free lectures or workshops.

There are many benefits from a voluntary scheme like this. It is a win/win situation and thus far we have received a huge amount of gratitude from our Fijian colleagues.

We have been careful to ask them what we can do for them, rather than tell them what we think they need. The refurbishment program will start shortly to outfit the surgery UP to a state of the art NZ standard surgery with equipment to match. We are entering into a collaborative joint partnership with the NZ dental industry who are being very supportive of the project by helping us with equipment. In the future we hope to extend this model to other Pacific islands.