Improving Health, Creating Bright Smiles

Children with HIV have many health needs beyond medical treatment.  One often overlooked but critical area is dental hygiene.  This is even more important for HIV positive children because medicines used in antiretroviral therapy (ART) can be very hard on the teeth.   Through a grant from MAXIMUS Foundation, CAFI provided dental hygiene education and treatment for 350 children served by Family Hope Centres in Kampala and Jinja Uganda.

The program kicked off with a training session for children and their parent or guardian teaching about how teeth are made, why it is important to keep them clean and healthy, and how to brush effectively.     Each child received a toothbrush, toothpaste and clean water to practice brushing under the supervision of a dentist, then had a dental examination.

“Dental care is expected to relieve oral pain, improve nutrition, general well- being and ultimately create bigger smiles on the faces of children under our care.”  CAF Uganda Medical Director Dr. Carole Ssekimpi

Under this project, dental care was added to the pediatric client clinic rotation, so during their monthly clinic visits pediatric clients saw a nurse, doctor, counselor, pharmacist and dentist with the goal of providing comprehensive services all designed to lay a foundation for healthier life outcomes.

CAFI welcomes donations of toothbrushes, toothpaste or funds to help HIV infected children to have healthier lives and wider smiles.