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Dentistry
In February 2020 I was lucky enough to join a group of fellow dentists and support team members to go to India to provide dental care with the charity Smilestar. Smilestar is a charity that was set up 10 years ago by fellow dentist Mitesh Badiani to provide basic dental care in some of the poorest countries of the world.
Each dentist travelling needs an assistant who doesn’t need any dental experience so I travelled with my sister, Louise. I also knew one of the other dentists going as we had met 10 years previously through the BACD, but I had never met any of the other people going. We met up in Heathrow on Saturday evening for the first time just as we went through check in.
We flew to New Delhi and then onto Rajkot, followed by a 3 hour minibus drive to Khambalia where we were based. After around 24 hours of travel door to door, we got a good night’s sleep and were ready to start work the next day. Smilestar had built a hospital in Khambalia and we started seeing patient there. When we arrived at the hospital, the welcome that we got was incredible, they were so happy to see us.
The set up was very basic, just a chair in one large room, no such thing as patient confidentiality in India. We each had a translator who would explain the problem, all we could do was take out painful teeth or refer to the hospital for actual treatment. In the part of India that we were in, Gujarat, there is a significant problem with diabetes and high blood pressure, this results in a lot of gum disease and wobbly teeth that needed to come out.
We had brought all our equipment such as forceps, syringes and local anaesthetics so we were able to make sure that everyone we saw could have pain free treatment and we took out a lot of teeth. There were no x-ray facilities, no suction, no dental chairs, it was very different to how I normally work at Evolve. We saw everyone who needed to be seen and it was a very busy clinic.
Over the next few days, we went to different villages where we were always welcomed like rock stars and we took out hundreds of teeth. Between the 4 dentists and 1 doctor, we saw around 600 patients whilst we were there.
I had never been to India and it was a fantastic experience, I absolutely loved it all. I think we saw a tiny part of real India, we didn’t see any other Westerners whilst we were there until we got back to the airport in Rajkot. The food was incredible, Gujarat is a vegetarian state, so no meat, just a lot of delicious vegetable curries. It was such a colourful place, all the women dressed in the most beautiful saris, and it was so incredibly busy everywhere we went. I made some great friends too.
I feel very humbled and honoured to have had such an experience and thank everyone who supported me which allowed me to get a lot of people out of dental pain. I am already thinking which trip I can do next year…..
🚗 If you’re visiting Evolve Dentistry today, please allow extra travel time
There are major traffic issues in the area this morning, and journeys to Portishead are taking longer than usual.
If you have an appointment with us today, please leave plenty of time to get to the practice safely. If you’re running late, just give our reception team a call and we’ll do our best to help.
Stay safe, and we look forward to seeing you soon.
50km… and counting! 🚲💪
Our Clinical Director, Dr Carol Somerville Roberts, has just completed her longest training ride yet — an incredible 50 kilometres — as she prepares for a life-changing charity cycle from the base of Kilimanjaro to the Ngorongoro Crater in February 2026.
Carol is taking on this huge challenge to raise funds for Bridge2Aid, a charity providing vital emergency dental care and training in Tanzania. The money raised will help run an outreach and training programme where eight Dental Therapists will be trained and around 2,000 people will receive essential dental treatment.
For someone who hasn’t been on a bike in years, months of training in all weathers is no small feat — and we couldn’t be more proud of her determination.
If you’d like to support Carol and help make a genuine difference to communities with little or no access to dental care, you can donate here:
👉 https://www.justgiving.com/page/carol-somerville-roberts-1
Every donation, big or small, will have an immense impact.
Thank you for cheering her on! 💜
You were expecting a big before-and-after reveal, weren’t you? 😁
Here’s the truth: the best way to save money at the dentist is simple — floss! 🦷
A few seconds a day can help prevent costly treatments later.
#EvolveDentistry #DentalCareMadeSimple #FlossForTheWin #Portishead
Thinking about improving your smile but not sure where to start? 😁
In this video, our dentist Richard Ford talks about SmileFast — a modern, minimally invasive way to transform your smile quickly and beautifully. ✨
SmileFast combines the latest digital technology with composite bonding to deliver natural-looking results in as little as one appointment. It’s perfect for patients who want a confident smile without more complex treatment. 💚
Watch to find out how SmileFast could help you love your smile again.
#EvolveDentistry #Portishead #SmileFast #CosmeticDentistry #ConfidentSmile #SmileTransformation
Claire used to feel really self-conscious about her stained teeth and often hid her smile. After having veneers at Evolve Dentistry, she now smiles confidently — and can’t stop! 💚
Her story is a wonderful reminder of how transforming your smile can transform how you feel, too.
Watch Claire share her journey 👇
#EvolveDentistry #Portishead #Veneers #SmileTransformation #ConfidentSmile #CosmeticDentistry#ConfidenceBoost #beyourbestself #Northsomerset #multiawardwinning #patientsatisfaction #patientsfirst #newpatients #healthysmiles #acceptingnewpatients #nailsea #clevedon #portisheadmarina
Meet Kayse, one of our brilliant dental nurses here at Evolve Dentistry! 💚
Kayse is an important part of our team, helping to make sure every patient feels comfortable, cared for, and supported during their visit. 🦷✨
We’re so proud of the friendly, compassionate team we have here at Evolve — they’re the heart of everything we do.
#EvolveDentistry #Portishead #DentalNurse #BestTeam #PatientCare #BehindTheScenes
