Projects

Project The Netherlands
• 2021-2022: A participatory action research (PAR) on oral health with schoolchildren from the Schilderswijk, The Hague, in collaboration with the Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA) Departments Preventive Dentistry and Paediatric Dentistry, Dental Hygiene Education Hogeschool InHolland, VUMC, the Prinses Irene school, community center de Mussen, GGD Haaglanden and Jeugdtandzorg West.
• Financially, in manpower or materially supported by: Amsterdams Universiteitsfonds (AUF), Nederlandse Vereniging voor Kindertandheelkunde (NVvK), VUvereniging, ACTA Departments Preventive Dentistry and Paediatric Dentistry, the Bamboovement, Happy Tabs, Medsocks, Coconut Dreams and Colgate Netherlands (Elmex).
• Impact: Co-creation of an action plan together with the schoolchildren, their parents and healthcare and educational professionals from the area, which contributed to local ownership and sustainability. Community mobilisation: schoolchildren, their parents, the teachers, and other professionals such as social workers, a dietician, healthcare workers from the GGD, dentists and dental hygienists from Jeugdtandzorg West and a youth nurse worked on the solutions together. About 200 primary school children now have more knowledge on how to keep their mouth healthy, about visiting the dentist and a healthy diet. Stakeholders from the area were connected during this research. This project led to oral health literacy and awareness about a healthy diet amongst children and mothers from the neighbourhood.

Project Kenia

• 2020: ‘Building 60 handwashing stations in the slums of Nairobi to stop the spread of Covid19, a collaboration between The Healthy Teeth Foundation, and local Kenyan organizations such as Rafiki Organization, Big 5 Library and Yoga Heart Kenya.
• Financially supported by: friends, family, sponsors of The Healthy Teeth Foundation and readers of Den Haag Centraal (newspaper).
• Impact: Together we build 60 handwashing stations in different slums to stop the spread of Covid19. We refilled these with water and soap for 1,5 year. About 300.000 people can now wash their hands on a daily basis with water and soap. Also, soap making classes have been organized, large water storage tanks have been purchased and trucks with 10.000 liter brought extra water to the communities. Children got nice handwashing workshops to learn about the importance of handwashing. This project brought awareness about hygiene, social distancing and mouth masks.

For more information about this research read this nice and informative blog from The Bamboo Brush Society: https://thebamboobrushsociety.com/blogs/blog/the-healthy-teeth-foundation

Project Kenia
• 2019: ‘A community based prevention project’, a participatory action research (PAR) about oral health in Mamba village in Kwale, Kenya, in collaboration with Dutch Dental Care Foundation https://dutchdentalcare.nl & 7Senses https://www.7sens.es
• Financially, in manpower or materially supported by: Rotary Jeugd Commissie Den Haag-Wassenaar, Foundation Rotary Community Service ’s Gravenhage, friends and family, The Balie debate center in Amsterdam, 7Senses, Academic Centre for Dentistry in Amsterdam department of Social Dentistry, The Bamboo Brush Society, Unilever Kenya, Docters of the World NL, Fresh Dentists, Rotary Doctors NL en de P.G. Krafft Foundation.
• Impact: the co-creation an action plan together with the community to improve oral health among children, this lead to ownership and sustainability. Community mobilisation: teachers, parents, health workers, the area chief, the herbalist, the village elders etc. were involved in this project. About 1200 primary school students will wash their hands and brush their teeth on a daily basis under supervision of the teachers and the ‘health club students’ from now on. Stakeholders in the village were connected. Awareness about oral hygiene & diet was created. Also a play was made by the pupils to educate the community about oral health. Insights in the relationship between Kenyan culture & oral health were obtained. An academic article about this project will be written.  

For more information about this research read this nice and informative blog from The Bamboo Brush Society: https://thebamboobrushsociety.com/blogs/blog/the-healthy-teeth-foundation

Project South Africa

• 2017: ‘Healthy Teeth Challenge’, a participatory action research (PAR) commissioned by and carried out for Dr. Linda Greenwall of the Dental Welness Trust (DWT) and 7Senses in Mfuleni township, Cape Town. For more information on the project go to: https://www.7sens.es/dt_galleries/healthy-teeth-challenge/
• Financially, in manpower or materially supported by: Rotary Youth Committee Den Haag-Wassenaar, friends and family via 1% club (https://onepercentclub.com/nl/projects/the-7senses-healthy-teeth-challenge/results), 7Senses Foundation, iTop & Prime Dental, International Public Health Department of Athena Institute, VU University, Dental Hygiene Institute of Hogeschool Holland and Colgate Nederland and Community Dentistry & Oral Health Department of the University of the Western Cape with the help of Dr. Linda Greenwall/on behalf of DWT.
• Impact: Co-creation of an action plan together with the community, which resulted in ownership and sustainability. Community mobilisation: teachers and parents were involved with the project. About 2000 children now brush their teeth on a daily basis supervised by the Dental Wellness Trust toothbrush mama’s. This project connected stakeholders and brought awareness about dental hygiene and nutrition among children and mothers from this Mfuleni township. It gave insights into the relationship between the South African culture and traditions and oral health. Wrote a report with recommendations for DWT.

Impression project: https://youtu.be/2vdQKlj8chM

Project Kenya

• 2014: Carried out Anthropological research and wrote thesis commissioned by Dutch Dental Care Foundation on ‘cultural and social economic factors that influence the oral health of children in Kwale, southern Kenya’. • Impact: obtained an understanding of the relationship between Kenyan culture and oral health. Wrote a report with recommendations for DDC. Published an article in the Dutch Magazine for Dentistry http://alicegrasveld.nl/Artikel-NTvT.pdf

Project Kenya

• 2020: ‘Building handwashing stations in the slums of Nairobi to stop the spread of Covid19, a collaboration between The Healthy Teeth Foundation, and local Kenyan organizations such as Rafiki Organization, Yoga Heart Kenya en Big 5 Library.

• Financially supported by: friends, family, sponsors of The Healthy Teeth Foundation and readers of Den Haag Centraal (newspaper).

• Impact: Together we build over a dozen handwashing stations in different slums to stop the spread of Covid19. About 300.000 people can now wash their hands on a daily basis with water and soap. Also, soap making classes have been organized, large water tanks have been purchased and water trucks brought extra water to the communities. Children got nice handwashing workshops to learn about the importance of handwashing. Awareness about hygiene, social distancing and mouth masks.

PROJECTS

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REGISTERED CHARITY NUMMER : 859433614