Something as simple as a visit to the dentist's office is a luxury in many African nations, where lack of dental care can turn deadly.

But with your help, SIM, in partnership with Mercy Ships, is working to save lives and to restore hope through a dentistry project in Liberia, West Africa. In July 2008, the Trinity Dental Clinic opened in this war torn nation — where only six dentists can be found in a country of nearly 3.5 million.

The need is great. Most Liberians cannot afford a regular visit to the dentist, leaving them vulnerable to disease brought upon by abscessed teeth and decaying jawbones due to chronic infections. Without treatment, some will die.

Sadly, most of these critical dental problems would never have happened had patients had better access to a dentist, who could have stopped the problems with a simple cavity filling or a chat about preventative care.

The four-room clinic, located on the outskirts of Monrovia at the Eternal Love Winning Africa Hospital, will provide four times more space than is currently available to provide dental care and to perform life-saving surgeries.

Training Others

The Trinity Dental Clinic doesn't just aim to radically improve the lives of Liberians by ensuring quality dental care.

The clinic is also a learning lab, where Liberians shadow SIM missionaries Frieda Schmidt and Keith Chapman as they work. Newly trained Liberians are becoming the country's future dental professionals who will model Jesus Christ's love in the field of dentistry.

	Frieda Smith treats a patient

Schmidt, a dental therapist, and Chapman, a dentist, are meeting the needs of patients not only in the Monrovia-area, but also the needs of those living in remote parts of the country. Portable dental units will make it possible to visit villages to perform simple cleanings and extractions, with the option of transporting patients to Trinity when a patient's needs are more critical.

And the reach of the new clinic will go even further.

Schmidt and Chapman plan to launch an extension of the clinic—a dental school that will train Liberians to become dental therapists who spread the Gospel to remote parts of the country by modeling Christ's love through dental outreaches.

Liberia's protracted civil war disrupted the educations of many Liberians and caused professional educators to flee the country. Today, Liberians are in desperate need of good training, but they don't have many options.

The missionary dental school will build a strong foundation of Liberians committed to Christ and to rebuilding their country by staying in Liberia to pursue dental careers. Long after Schmidt and Chapman are gone, Trinity will remain a Liberian-managed clinic.

Give

It will be difficult to keep Trinity's doors open without committed partners. It will cost upwards of $80,000 a year to keep Trinity open. This will pay for needed dental equipment and supplies as well as provide for the salaries of Liberian staff.

When you invest in the Trinity Dental Clinic, you will be helping to keep the cost of procedures low, so Liberians can afford them and have a higher chance of coming to the dentist regularly.

Best of all, you actually will be helping to send a patient to the dentist ... and possibly even saving a life.

If you would like to sponsor this work, please contact your nearest SIM office or give online to project 95210. Thank you and God bless!

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	Trinity Dental Clinic team 2011