TWO dental nurses from Wrexham are heading to Cambodia to provide essential care for hundreds of people who lack access to dental treatment.

Paula Masters and Emily Tattum from Ruabon Road Dental Practice will spend two weeks in Cambodia in October next year and they already have a busy programme of events planned to raise funds for their trip.

Volunteering with the international dental charity Dentaid, they will be part of a team of UK dental professionals who will visit prisons, remote villages, slum areas and schools to provide pain-relieving dental treatments and oral health advice.

Many of the patients will never have seen a dentist before and will be suffering from long-term dental pain. The team expects to see up to 100 patients per day and will also be giving oral health advice, applying protective fluoride varnish and establishing tooth-brushing programmes.

Owing to the history of the Cambodian genocide, healthcare services in the country are limited and strained. Many of the country's dentists only offer private care which is unaffordable for most people.

Paula and Emily will also deliver education sessions highlighting the importance of oral health and urging parents to limit their children’s consumption of sweet snacks and drinks. Dentaid funds ongoing outreach clinics in Cambodia and provides local dentists with equipment and support all year round.

Paula and Emily will be swapping their modern surgery for portable dental equipment and will be working in remote communities using school desks and plastic seats as dental chairs.

The pair said: "This is always something we have wanted to do and now we have been given the opportunity to share our professional knowledge to help people less fortunate than ourselves with limited access to dental health services.

"We are both really excited to travel and work in another country and to respect and learn about their culture. We expect the trip to be a lot of hard work but think the rewards will by far outweigh the challenges."

Jacqueline James, overseas and volunteering manager for Dentaid said: “"We are really excited to have Paula and Emily in our Cambodia volunteering team and I’m sure they’ll do an amazing job providing dental care for people of all ages who really suffer because they can’t access basic dental treatment and oral health advice.

"They have got their fundraising of to a great start and we are grateful to their patients and the local community for giving them so much support."

The dental nurses are each raising £2,250 to cover the cost of their trip and are starting their fundraising with a Peaky Blinders themed party at The Parish Bar, Wrexham on Friday, September 20, where an auction for a Liverpool Football Club signed shirt by the current team with a certificate of authenticity will be up for bids on the evening.

For those unable to attend the evening early bids can be placed on the shirt by contacting Paula via e-mail at Paula.masters@wrexhamdentist.co.uk. A raffle will also take place with prizes kindly donated by local businesses.

The dental duo have also planned an eight-mile walk on Saturday, October 5 around Llangollen and a raffle at the Ruabon Road practice at Christmas. Anyone wishing to join them on the walk or to donate a raffle prize can contact Paula or Emily Emily.tattum@wrexhamdentist.co.uk.

If you would like to help them fundraise their trip, you can do so at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/emily-paula?utm_term=8rQkrpnr8