User:Michelle.levine/Dental Volunteers for Israel

Dental Volunteers for Israel (in Hebrew: ארגון רופאי שיניים נתנדבים לישראל) or DVI, is an Israeli charitable organization working to alleviate the suffering of some 200,000 children in Jerusalem and its environs living under the poverty line, providing free dental treatment and oral health education. DVI treats thousands of children every year at no cost, thanks to visiting volunteer dentists from around the world.

History
DVI was founded by Holocaust survivor Trudi Birger née Simon in 1980, who received strong early support from several prominent French dentists including Dr. Jacques Ciepelewski. Israeli government officials, such as Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek were supportive of Trudi's initiative from the beginning.

Upon Trudi's death in 2002, the clinic location was renamed the Trudi Birger Clinic.

About DVI's Founder

Trudi wrote a memoir, A Daughter's Gift of Love: A Holocaust Memoir, which was translated into over a dozen languages. As a young girl in a concentration camp, Trudi vowed that if she survived, she would do something to prevent the suffering of other children and give them the chance to thrive. Trudi survived, met and married Zev Birger, and moved to Jerusalem. Trudi was volunteering with the local welfare services when she discovered that the biggest problem for children living under the poverty line in Israel's capital was lack of access to dental care. Based on this discovery, Trudi decided to open a free dental clinic that would provide the desperately needed care, and traveled around the world to recruit dentists and donors to DVI, her new clinic. Trudi would tell her own story and how she decided to get involved in building a free clinic, and she inspired people around the world to lend a helping hand to impoverished children - in Israel, and in their own cities.

Background
DVI's Trudi Birger Clinic

DVI operates a free dental clinic in Jerusalem for children aged 4-26. Children must receive a referral to DVI from the Municipality's Welfare Services Division or an approved non-profit organization (charitable organizations wishing to refer children to the clinic are welcome to contact DVI). Children and youth treated come from all the diverse backgrounds represented in Jerusalem's poorest sectors. In practice this means that DVI treats significant numbers of Palestinian and Jewish Israeli children and youth - including religious and secular Jews, and new immigrants from Ethiopia and the former USSR. Some 3,040 children and youth were treated at DVI in 2012.

Donald Berman Oral Health Education Program

All treatment at DVI is totally free of charge - the only 'payment' which DVI requires from its patients is to maintain their oral hygiene and adopt healthy dietary and smoking habits. Preventative oral health car is a major focus at DVI. The world trend in modern medicine is to focus on prevention, recognizing that with proper care, future illnesses can be avoided. This is true also for oral health - with the proper care, dental pain and the resulting implications can be avoided. Dental disease can be prevented if intervention starts early, with a combination of professional and individual measures including preventative dental visits, the application of topical fluorides and dental sealants, the use of fluoride toothpastes, proper infant feeding practices, and diet.

Before commencing treatment, children and their parents must attend the Donald Berman Oral Health Education Program where they receive oral hygiene education, including proper diet and teeth care, and preventative treatments such as fluoride and fissure sealants. They also receive a toothbrush, which for many of the patients is a first. Once the children prove that they can maintain proper oral hygiene, treatment begins. Each patient is invited for regular 6-month recall visits, which all begin with a check-up and a visit to the Oral Health Education Program.

The Oral Health Care Unit is in a separate building from the main clinic, where there are educational materials available for the waiting children - videos, books and worksheets. Training sessions are held in a classroom especially set up for the purpose. There are four low sinks, suited for children, where they are taught about correct oral health and are given suggestions for a healthy diet. The third room in the Unit is the treatment room where the children's teeth are thoroughly cleaned by the hygienist, fluoride and, where appropriate, fissure sealants are applied to protect their teeth.

Awards Received


 * June 2009 - DVI was presented with the President's Award for Volunteerism by President Shimon Peres at an official ceremony at the President's Residence.
 * 2006 - DVI received the Jerusalem Mayor's Award from Mayor Uri Lupolianski.

Sister Organizations

 * DVI France was established in 1980 by Dr. Jacques Ciépiélewski, Dr. Christian Bat-Genstein, Dr. Armand Cohen, and Dr. Nicole Marx.
 * Canadian Friends of DVI was established in 1985 by Toronto dentists Max Florence, Fred Intrator, and Harry Rosenberg.
 * American Friends of DVI was established in 1986 by Lila Seiler???