Meet the Gympie dentist changing the world
FOR THE past six years, Dr Tim Topalov of Gympie's River Dental has been providing a much-needed service to Third World countries.
Dr Topalov, his son Ben plus Tania and Brett Hall, Bec Hof and Kathy Sylvester travelled to Malawi, Africa, for two weeks to offer their assistance free of charge.
Dr Topalov said it was an eye-opening experience.
"It was a great feeling being able to help those who were in need and those who could not afford treatment, we were able to provide that to them,” he said.
"You get a feeling of satisfaction when you can help them, but it also brings home how lucky we really are.”
The team of six, mixed with many different talents provided crucial help to the community of 200,000 at St Gabriel's Hospital in Namitete.
Dr Topalov's friend who emigrated to Australia six years ago from Malawi suggested it was a great place to go and assist.
"With this trip there was a local whose family owned the tobacco farm, he emigrated to Australia and suggested Malawi,” he said.
Dr Topalov said he gets to attend two different places a year, with the next one lined up in Nepal in September, at two different monasteries.
"I'll be taking a different team with me to work in the monasteries,” he said.
"Staff love coming along as it shows them a different country they wouldn't normally see and it allows them to make friends.”
A defining moment for the team was when they helped a mother.
"The mother had a toothache on and off for three years, she brought her baby with her to the centre, it goes to show the extremes people go to, to get surgery,” he said.
Dr Topalov has ventured far and wide with his team, with his first trip to Cambodia in 2013.
"It was a great experience, we worked in an orphanage,” he said.
"We try and visit two places a year, spending two weeks at one time.”
"Not everyone who goes on these trips have experience, if they aren't qualified, they can help in other ways.
Dental assistant Bec Hof was one of the workers who went to Malawi and she said it was a memorable experience.
"It's fantastic to be able to get someone out of pain - often a first time patient,” she said.
"We treated more than 150 patients, performing extractions and fillings, with close to 200 teeth being extracted.”
Ms Hof said it wasn't uncommon to find people walk up to 30km to the hospital.
"Often pain has been there for months, even years,” she said.
"Malawi is in the top 10 of the poorest countries in the world but the people are some of the happiest. It is a very safe country to visit and certainly lived up to its name as the "warm heart of Africa.”
Ms Hof said she would recommend others to visit Malawi.
"I highly recommend people visit and experience the fascinating culture in this wonderful country,” she said.
Dr Topalov plans to return for the next three years with a long-term goal of setting up a permanent clinic at the hospital so that a full-time dental therapist can help meet the high demand for dental care.
