For ten years, the Swedish dental care has been running an emergency dental service in a motor home at Heden during Gothia Cup. They offer dental care for players, leaders and coaches when needed. This year, they also have a tent where you can brush your teeth, compete in a ball throwing competition and play football games.
Four enthusiasts are working in the motor home at Heden. Today has been quite calm, but Mina Mehrpour, who is normally in charge of a clinic in Gothenburg, thinks their dental care station can be quite busy by the end of the week.
- We get more and more patients every year. People have started to notice that we offer everything for free, and they take the opportunity to get their teeth taken care of. We had a leader here from Iraq the other day who wanted to get as much fixed as possible. He told us that it was nearly impossible for him to get a dentist at home. And of course we helped him with as much as we could, Mina says.
The motor home is equipped with the most essential tools to performe x-ray, fixing cavities and broken teeth.
- Broken teeth, that’s a classic in Gothia Cup, says dental hygienist Simon Nordangård.
Simon explains that works in the dental service because he enjoys helping people, and because the tournament is a something he wants to be a part of. But it’s not always just happy faces.
- A while ago we had a little boy here with such a toothache he was shivering. But we managed to help him.
Except Swedish, the dental care staff speaks English, Arabic, Kurdish and Persian. But Mina Mehrpour says the most important language is body language.
- If someone comes in and points out where the pain is, we’ll understand. You don’t have to tell in words, she says.
Mina also says that the patients come from a wide range of countries. But she has seen very few African patients.
- Usually, they don’t have to go to the dentist. Their teeth are in such good health. They eat healthy food with very little sugar in it, and the water in Africa contains a lot of fluorine.
Outside of the motor home, there are some activities going on. A ball throwing competition, for instance. All the participants win a little bag with toothpaste, toothbrush, fluorine chewing gum and dental floss – everything your teeth might need for a week at a football cup. In the end of the week, one winner will also get an electric toothbrush. The dental care is open every day from 10 to 17.
- But we’ll stay open a bit longer if we have many patients, Mina says.
