With threatening pockets of malnutrition and a general dearth of basic health care, dental care for children in the Former Soviet Union is typically ignored. The result is constant dental pain for an estimated ten percent of the young population and a future of dental debility for many more, often impairing scholastic performance and even leading to depression.
Conversely, Dental health awareness promotes a sense of hygiene and cleanliness, and greatly improves a child’s self-image. But even in the FSU, dental treatment is expensive. An average treatment costs at least $100 and many treatments can cost $500 or more.
The FJC has recently established two dental clinics both for children of the community and others from the wider region. The centers also provide instruction on personal dental hygiene and monitors individual treatments in order to ensure proper care in the future. Such projects have a multiplier effect, and they raise health awareness in general. Thus, plans to establish more centers are underway, and additional clinics will soon be appearing in many more cities and communities.
