Smiles on the Horizon in Guinea
A new dental clinical training center will administer direct services to the public and training to dental students throughout the country, as well as throughout the African continent.
Dentistry is overlooked in healthcare spaces. Yet, it plays a critical role in patient health outcomes. A dental diagnosis can predict a range of chronic conditions from heart disease to cancer.
More troubling, much of the world has limited or no access to oral health services. Over 1 billion people suffer from oral disease or lack access to oral hygiene care. And according to the World Health Organization, only 27% of the globe has access to a trained dentist, with less than one dentist for every 10,000 people in Africa alone.
Despite the challenges, new healthcare facilities may decrease the shortage of dentists. Working in collaboration with Mercy Ships and Guinea’s Ministry of Higher Education, Build Health International is wrapping up work on expanding the dental school at Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry (UGANC) in Guinea this month
Overcoming Barriers to Dental Services
The Gamal Dental Clinical Training Center is a two-story building that spans 1,370 square meters. Equipped with intake, clinic, and clinical support spaces, the center includes a waiting and consultation room, dental treatment and clinical training spaces, x-ray and cone-beam imaging capacity, educational offices, and other administrative areas.
From Rendering to Reality
The project has been a little over two years in the making. In 2022, Mercy Ships approached BHI to request design support for the facility, including architectural services and renderings. Mikel Beaumont, an architect at BHI, and Bruce Barr, senior project manager, both were integral to the project’s advancement.
Once design wrapped up, the project proceeded into its construction phases, BHI team members traveled to Guinea to issue work quality inspections, including construction progress monitoring, reporting, and coordination.
Upon completion of the facility, the Dental Faculty at UGANC, with support from Mercy Ships will oversee operations to provide clinical care, as well as clinical and specialist training to the growing cohort of local and regional dental students.
The new facility will solve two key problems: first, the center will administer a range of clinical services, addressing inpatient and outpatient needs. Second, the space will be used as a training hub that will equip future dentists and practitioners. This focus on training guarantees that future generations of patients will have access to a dental professional. In Guinea, where specialized postgraduate dentistry programs have not yet been fully developed, the center is an especially impressive advancement in achieving equitable health care.
Rosanna Niosi serves as Build Health International’s Communications and Marketing Manger. She writes about accessibility, innovation, and occupational health in global health systems.
