The earthquake in Haiti has had a severe impact on availability of dental health services in Port-au-Prince. Many dental health clinics were destroyed and there is an immense shortfall in providing services to the people who need them. 

The OHOH Coalition is rebuilding dental health services in Haiti by mobilizing volunteers and providing dental equipment. A lack of dental services means oral infections, broken teeth, cavities, and other painful conditions that can cause great suffering. Dental decay continues to be the most common chronic childhood disease globally and without proper resources, the children of Haiti will experience unnecessary pain and trauma.

Dental decay affects 60 - 90 percent of all children contributing to absenteeism from millions of lost school and work hours each year further resulting in losses in societal productivity and economic development.

Poor oral hygiene, a lack of clean water and adequate nutrition, and unsanitary living conditions in Haiti have lead to several cases of noma, a disease that mainly affects malnourished children living in extreme poverty. This devastating affliction starts as a mouth ulcer and, if untreated, can rapidly penetrate and destroy soft tissues and bones of the face, permanently ravaging features, and leaving the child grotesquely disfigured and often unable to eat or speak.  The end result is death in 80 - 90 percent of affected individuals. View photos (please note these photos may graphic for sensitive viewers).

We, and the people of Haiti, appreciate your generosity in restoring vital dental health services to those in need.