A team of two healthcare workers are proving that if you are committed and you have the resources, you can positively impact the lives of hundreds within a short time.
The provincial Department of Health and Wellness is proud of dentist Dr Eshaam Arend and dental assistant Ammerentia Hendriks for the impact they made in communities through dental outreaches in the last quarter of 2025.
The pair travelled thousands of kilometres to see up to 30 patients a day at its stops in the Breede Valley, Drakenstein, Stellenbosch and Witzenberg.
In total 850 patients were seen and 1 615 teeth were extracted. Toothache and tooth decay can cause great discomfort, explains Arend, and this can have a detrimental effect on your day-to-day life.
“Poor oral health and pain can affect eating, nutrition and speech, especially in kids,” says Arend. “Chronic conditions like Diabetes, HIV, oral cancers and other illness can be detected in the mouth. If lesions are detected during a routine oral examination the patient can be referred immediately and treated accordingly.”
Patients who need dental care are usually referred from their clinic to the nearest healthcare facility in the area that offers this service. Unfortunately, this means that patients may wait an extended time to access the service and may need to travel far. But thanks to the outreaches by Arend and Hendriks with a dental unit borrowed from the Central Karoo team, help was available sooner and closer to home.
Elizabeth Rodriquez took her grandchild to Saron Clinic when the dental bus visited here, and was very grateful. She explained that despite the physical impact of needing a tooth extracted, the outreach saved them a lot of time and money. A taxi to Porterville would cost R70 per person and R200 to extract a tooth, she added.
Similarly, a patient from Gouda Clinic thanked the team for the outreach, as he would have had to pay R400 for the removal of a tooth, plus travel expenses to and from Tulbagh.
“I enjoy working in communities,” said Hendriks. “I especially enjoy helping people who are not close to a dental service. And the gratitude of the patients keeps me motivated.”
The department thanked Arend and Hendriks for their hard work and dignified service they gave to Cape Winelands communities during the special outreaches.
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