Navy Dental Officer, Lieutenant Tom Yong,
with a very popular Dental teaching aid
at Elementary School 78 at Air Putri,
Ambon, Indonesia during Pacific
Partnership 2010.

Eight dentists and dental assistants from the Pacific Partnership 2010 team, including Australian Navy Dentist Lieutenant Tom Yong, arrived at SD Negeri 78 in Air Putri, Ambon, on 28 July to conduct dental hygiene classes and a dental screening.

"We are really, really happy to have them here," said Principal Ms Magda Mual. "We have made lots of preparations and included the parents in the day also," she said. Each of the school's 259 students saw a dentist and received a toothbrush and toothpaste to put into practice all that they learned. The team also met with parents and teachers from the school.

Lieutenant Tom Yong, based in Western Australia, assisted Lieutenant Stephanie Clappers from the United States Navy in the dental hygiene classes, teaching children the different foods that protected and harmed their teeth. They also gave demonstrations of correct brushing technique which reinforced what the children had already learned at school, said Ms Mual.

"The team had a model of a mouth so they could show the children exactly how to brush; that was good for the children to see," she said. Each of the school's 259 students saw a dentist and received a toothbrush and toothpaste to put into practice all that they learned. The team also met with parents and teachers from the school.

The dental education program is part of Pacific Partnership 2010, an annual U.S. led mission this year conducted as a disaster relief exercise in Indonesia. Twenty-five medical and engineering personnel as well as HMA Ships Labuan and Tarakan from Australia are participating in the exercise.

Children peer through a slot in the wall at
Sofifi primary school, Halmahera
Island in Indonesia, while Lieutenant Tom
Yong, Royal Australian Navy dentist
conducts dental checks on locals during
Pacific Partnership 2010.