Brighter Smiles for Shining India

The media has recently highlighted episodes of medical negligence, misconduct and issues surrounding medical ethics or the lack thereof. Although the media focused on medical professionals, they did not explore the social responsibility we as dentists have towards our community, many will agree that currently the dental fraternity leaves a lot to be desired. Having said that, it would be iniquitous to overlook the individuals/organisations that work hard to improve the oral health conditions of the Indian Diaspora. One such organisation is the Global Child Dental Fund (GCDFund)1, which is a UK based dental charity that reaches out to the most disadvantaged children globally. The charity invests in dentists by equipping them with essential leadership skills through their Senior and Young Dental Leadership Programmes. These programmes are aimed at improving child oral health, promoting public oral health agendas and developing social responsibility. The GCDFund also runs Smiles & Hopes projects in various parts of the world primarily amongst disadvantaged children who suffer from war and poverty. For instance, in Timor Leste, a place affected by the civil war and severe poverty, the GCDFund has partnered with local charitable trusts as well as the Ministry of Health to raise much needed resources in terms of finance, manpower and dental equipment in order to address important issues including the lack of vital dental equipment and oral health professionals. Professor Raman Bedi is currently the Chairman of the GCDFund and oversees all the programs undertaken by the charity. In addition he is the Head of the Centre for International Child Oral Health at the King's College, London and is also the former Chief Dental Officer in England. His recently published book "Indian Health Professionals Around the World: a common agenda",2 demonstrate the pressing need for a common platform by which to mobilise the Indian health professionals to work together to improve the health status in India. Bearing this in mind, the GCDFund is contemplating venturing and investing in India. This project will primarily revolve around social responsibility as well as oral health treatment camps, particularly in relation to the underprivileged communities in India. As part of their project in India, the GCDFund has taken the first successful step towards developing this social movement through the creation of a Facebook group, which currently counts over 2500 users. Additionally, the