It is 9 am in the morning. The entrance hall is full of children who wait for their dental check. 2 social workers busily register the kids and pull the records from the files. Each of our little patients will come with a record of their dental checks over the last few years when they meet the doctors.Our social workers register each child and provide them with their dental records

The "Dental Bears" from Montreal came on initiative of Rose Quezada, an old friend of Eunice Cheng Chua, who was a dentist before she became the Director of the Centro Salvador. Rose was able to convince Emily, Montreal's leading dental surgent, to put a team together that volunteered to check our 240 youngsters. Emily and Rose at the Centro Salvador yesterday

Before their arrival, the Centro's big meeting room on the first floor was converted into an adhoc Dental Clinic. Eunice provided the dental chairs and the lights. The doctors from Canada brought their own kit, drills and anasthesia. It was a truly busy morning. The doctors focused mostly on extracting stuck milk teeth and wisdom teeth growing into the wrong direction. The children's dental health is high. Eunice's goal for her 2'400 program children is to have zero cavities - an ambitious target in an envirement rich on cheep sweets and sugary soft drinks. But thanks to regular 6 months dental checks at our own clinic we are close in meeting the target

The "Dental Bears" were supported by Ricardo Sales, the husband of one of the dentists. He did the organising and allows the doctors to focus on their job. Being a native of Venezuela he knows the importance of dental health for children in developing countries. If not properly looked after, poor people have no teeth left by the age of 40. Gum infections then lead to a serious deterioration of their general health. Ricardo Sales, the "logistics" person supporting the "Dental Bears"

Eunice Cheng Chua was very grateful for the "Dental Bears" visit. She looks forward to 2026 when the Canadians promised to return.

NB: the doctors had just wraped up for the day when the Centro's outdoor transformer blew out at 5 pm - for two hours the entire neighborhood was without power - by 7 pm it was restored. The dentist can continue their work todayMeralco, Manila's power utility, had to send in a big truck to fix the proble