A three-day dental camp at Mulago National Referral Hospital treated about 500 patients, a number the hospital’s dental clinic normally handles in a month. The exercise highlighted unmet demand for oral health services at the country’s largest referral facility.
The camp, organised as part of Uganda’s Independence Day celebrations, brought together dental specialists from Mulago and other practitioners to provide services to patients who had struggled to access timely care.
Dr Doreen Kiconco, who heads the Dental Outpatients Clinic at Mulago, said the number of patients treated during the camp demonstrates how much more the clinic could do if it had adequate equipment and supplies.
Kiconco said the team has carried out tooth fillings and extractions, replaced teeth and assessed patients involved in accidents, as well as those with suspected oral tumours. Patients requiring specialised care have been referred to the hospital’s oral surgery department for further management.
Kiconco said outside the camp, patients often face delays because of limited equipment and supplies, forcing some to seek treatment elsewhere or rely on painkillers while waiting for care.
She said the dental clinic is currently unable to conduct some essential diagnostic tests, including dental X-rays, after its only machine broke down. Patients requiring X-rays are therefore referred to other facilities to have the tests done before returning to Mulago for further treatment.
One of the patients who sought help during the camp was Abdul Khadir Mutebi, a taxi driver who had lived with recurring tooth pain for about a year. Mutebi said his problems started after an earlier root canal treatment failed, leaving the affected tooth broken. Doctors later advised him to get a crown, but he could not afford the cost.
“The doctors had told me I needed a crown to protect the tooth, but the price was very high. One told me six hundred thousand and I went to another place. They also told me around eight hundred thousand shillings. I couldn’t afford that.”
Mutebi said the pain had become particularly severe when he ate hot or cold food, but hoped the treatment he received at the camp would provide relief.
Kiconco said patients with long-standing dental problems similar to Mutebi’s made up a large proportion of those treated during the camp. She said the situation points to a wider burden of oral disease that remains under-prioritised when health resources are allocated.
Mulago Hospital Executive Director Dr Rosemary Byanyima acknowledged that the dental clinic faces staffing and equipment challenges. Byanyima said the clinic is severely understaffed and relies on ageing equipment that frequently breaks down because of heavy use.
She said the hospital carries out regular maintenance to keep the available equipment functioning and sustain services. Byanyima also said Mulago often handles patients whose conditions could have been managed at lower-level health facilities, in addition to its role as a national referral hospital. She said this increases the facility’s workload and puts additional pressure on already limited resources-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
