New Dental Clinic in St.Maarten for underprivileged Children
When last did you or your children visit the dentist? Chances are perhaps the last time there was a problem, or maybe not ever. Because of the high cost associated with dental care, many people seldom visit the dentist, according to Dr. Cornelis Soeters, who just opened a Dental Clinic on Welgelegen Road in Cay Hill St.Maartenl. "Reducing the dental problems has to start by educating children about proper dental care," he adds. It is against this backdrop that Soeters has decided to embark on a program to offer free dental check-ups to underprivileged children in the community, possibly expanding into free dental care, provided that sufficient sponsors support the initiative. Soeters, who has accumulated dental experience by working in many countries around the world for over three decades, says one of the most common problems he's encountered in his line of work is people visiting the dentist only when they are in pain. He says some people wait until their dental problem has reached such a severe state that it becomes very expensive to treat. He has also noticed that people would rather fork out money on material things, such as sprucing up their vehicles, than spending it on proper dental care. The situation, he said, is worse among the underprivileged.
Under the St. Maarten Educational Institute Foundation, Soeters is willing to dedicate a "few hours" per week to treat underprivileged children in the community at his Cay Hill practice. He also wants to play a role in educating children and their parents about proper dental care to prevent many of the problems that can become costly if not nipped on the bud at an early state. Soeters, who worked as a school dentist on St. Maarten from 1980-1983, said the foundation had been established some time ago for the same purpose, but became defunct after it had become too expensive to operate. Soeters was running the operations at Plaza Building with funding from his own pockets. "I really want to do something for the community. When children come to the clinic for root canal treatment, which could have been prevented if they had done something about it earlier, I know I have to do something," he said. "But I realize that I can only take on so much."
Several persons who are part of the St.Maarten Foundation are actively involved in getting the project of the ground, including Jimmy Challenger, who is assisting Soeters to set up the initiative, while banker Jessica Vrolijk is sorting out the financial aspect and educator Dorothy Richardson is assisting to select a group of underprivileged children for the program, among other things. "The idea is to target a group of children who are falling between the cracks. We are working out the details with sponsors." The project is slated to get off the ground in January 2008. "I want to dedicate at least two hours weekly to see the children on Wednesdays from 10:00am-12 noon. We will start with a dental examination, because we will need the consent of parents before we treat the children if necessary," the father of four said. "We have to start somewhere to make children more aware of proper dental care. This has always been one of the things I wanted to do when I came back to St. Maarten three years ago. When you start with children, you get to educate them before they get to a stage where they need a root canal or an extraction for example.
Soeters did a television information program on dental care for children in Saudi Arabia, where he worked for eleven years. "A lot of people have to balance their budgets and avoid spending an extra dollar by not taking their children to the dentist. They would rather spend it on their entertainment. This happens in every level of society," he concluded.
» Dr. Cornelis Soeters
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