Refugees: addressing the burden of oral disease through prevention.

In February 2017 a cohort of dental students travelled to Athens, Greece where they assisted in providing dental care to refugees and conducted oral hygiene workshops in Skaramagas Refugee camp. With respect to patient presentation, caries was found to be extremely prevalent due to patient diet, accessibility to care and oral hygiene practices. Due to the extensive nature of the work, time constraints and resource availability focus was directed on reducing disease burden through prevention. This article explores the challenges of delivering preventative treatment as well as its advantage over conventional therapeutic care in the context of a humanitarian crisis. It also seeks to inspire other healthcare professionals to undertake outreach work within the UK and abroad.