Vietnam Smiles
Vietnam Smiles is a project focused on improving oral health awareness and helping people understand the connection between oral health and overall health. Through education and prevention, we hope to reduce the high rates of tooth decay and oral diseases in underserved communities throughout Vietnam.
After years of providing dental care through our Mobile Care clinics, our dental team has seen firsthand how common poor oral health is in many rural areas. We also noticed that many patients have never been taught proper oral hygiene practices. While dental treatment can address existing problems, education helps prevent them from happening in the first place. By teaching patients how to care for their teeth and gums, we hope to create lasting changes that benefit not only the patients themselves, but also their families and communities.
Vietnam Smiles works with Gió Việt, a nonprofit organization, to provide oral hygiene education and preventive dental care for primary school children. Our goal is to provide one to two educational outreach programs each year while working with schools to encourage oral health education as part of students’ learning experience.
In addition to teaching children about oral health, we provide oral hygiene supplies such as toothbrushes and toothpaste and offer preventive treatments when available. We also collect data to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and make improvements as needed. The proposed location for the 2026 project is An Giang Province.
Vietnam Smiles for Mobile Care
The Mobile Health Care Project has provided medical and dental care to many underserved communities throughout Vietnam. Vietnam Smiles for Mobile Care was created to add an important educational component to these efforts.
The project provides approximately 120 oral hygiene education sessions for patients attending Mobile Care clinics. Topics include proper handwashing, brushing and flossing techniques for both adults and children, healthy eating habits, and the connection between oral health and overall health.
Our goal is for every patient to leave not only with treatment, but also with the knowledge and tools needed to maintain good oral health at home. Each participant receives a toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, and an oral health brochure to help reinforce what they learned during the session.
By combining treatment, education, and prevention, Vietnam Smiles and SAP-VN aim to create a lasting impact that extends beyond the clinic and into the community.