Tooth Colibri

The Tooth Colibri association is a winner of the setec Foundation’s Transition 2024 Fund for its Dentist on the Seas project.

Background

Aboard his sailboat “Picaso”, Dr Jerome Picard, a retired dentist by profession and a seasoned sailor, travels the seas, visiting remote areas that are often deprived of medical care, particularly dental care, due to a lack of resources and nearby dentists. On a previous expedition in 2021, he was accompanied by an ENT specialist to provide further treatment.

He has already carried out a “Terrestre” mission in Senegal, which enabled him to use his “Satelec” case to treat, descale, vacuum, rinse and dry.

In this new mission, scheduled to depart in November 2024, Jérome will also be focusing on preventive dental care for children (CP to CM2). Jérome will visit the children’s classrooms and give them a short presentation on the process of tooth decay. Then, using a false jaw, he shows them how to brush properly. Each child leaves with a toothbrush.

Circuit 2024-2025: After a first campaign between Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Casamance, Guinea, the Cape Verde Islands and the southern West Indies, the 2024-2025 campaign will start in Le Marin (Martinique), head north to Dominica, then on to the northern Caribbean islands (leeward islands), the Bahamas and so on. Then on to Saint Pierre et Miquelon, and back via the Azores…

The crew consists of 2 or 3 people accompanying the dentist. For this tour, a doctor will accompany the team in March. But the focus of the mission remains dental care.

The dental care provided is adapted according to needs and dispensed in local clinics. Examples: A typical 4-day stopover in Senegal, at the dispensary in the town of Ndangam. In Cape Verde, for 10 days in the Palmeria municipal library on the island of Sal.

The beneficiaries of her care are disadvantaged island populations, schoolchildren, local staff…

The modus operandi

Jérôme had flown to Cape Verde and met a school principal. They had agreed that he would return the following year to provide treatment. In this case, the trip was planned and organized, and the local television station even came to film them.

But in 90% of cases, it’s improvised. When he arrives, Jérôme asks for authorization, providing his European diplomas. He almost always obtains authorization, often orally, and works in a dispensary, library or other…

In 15 minutes, he unloads all his equipment. All he needs is a table, a chair and some pillows.

People come by word of mouth. By the next day, the place is packed. His record was to treat 35 people in one day.

The role of the setec Foundation

The setec Foundation is supporting the project with 8,000 euros for boat maintenance and repairs, as well as the purchase of medical-dental equipment.

Audrey Zonco, setec tpi, is the patron of the project and is responsible for its follow-up.