Tooth decay, tooth extractions and root fillings: the three mobile dental practices run by the Green Helmets have carried out more than 100,000 treatments since 2016. But this work involves much more than that! Dentist Wafaa explains in an interview.
By Yvonne Neudeck
Bonn, October 11, 2025 – Wafaa, every day many children, adults and elderly people with toothache come to our ‘mobile dental practice’. What condition are your patients’ teeth in?
Unfortunately, most patients’ teeth are in an advanced stage of treatment, with abscesses, periodontitis and root canal inflammation. Many patients have been heavily dependent on painkillers for long periods of time because they do not have access to private, fee-based clinics.
We observe this problem in all four centres that we visit and provide care for. Each centre comprises more than six camps with a population of around 100,000 people. Our clinic treats an average of 25 patients per day.
We are the only mobile dental clinic in the region, and the distance to the nearest private clinic is more than 30 kilometres, which makes transport difficult. The lack of specialist clinics and dentists in the area often prevents timely treatment, and so relatively simple problems turn into serious conditions such as infections and root diseases.
In addition, most families lack financial resources and many basic necessities. Almost all of them live in refugee camps, often with one or even both parents missing.
How does life in the camps affect dental health?
All patients who visit the clinic are displaced persons who were forced to leave their home towns and villages during the war. Life in the camps poses major challenges for these people. Limited access to toothbrushes and toothpaste leads to poor oral hygiene, and clean water is often in short supply. All of this leads to irregular tooth cleaning, which in turn causes plaque, tooth decay and gum disease.
Residents are also often forced to eat a very unbalanced diet. Important nutrients for oral health, such as calcium and vitamin D, are lacking. The prevalence of cheap foods high in sugar and carbohydrates increases the risk of tooth decay, especially in children.
Many people are unaware of the importance of oral and dental care, which leads to bad habits such as irregular tooth brushing or avoiding visits to the dentist when they are necessary. In addition, the psychological stress caused by war and displacement often leads people to neglect their general health, including their oral health.
What is the mental state of people when they seek treatment? Has life in the camps become normal for them?
Residents often face difficult and diverse mental health issues, such as anxiety, stress, depression and trauma caused by harsh living conditions. These are due to displacement, the loss of loved ones and their familiar homes, instability and limited resources.
People have adapted to their difficult living conditions, but the challenges remain, including a lack of healthcare and educational opportunities, loss of privacy and general insecurity.
We make every effort to take our patients’ difficult living conditions into account. With the mobile dental clinics, we can travel to the camps so that people do not have to travel long distances to see us. They are also allowed to bring their families and friends so that they can benefit from the services too.
Is there a story about a patient that particularly touched you and that you would like to share with us?
Every day we meet people and hear stories that touch us deeply. One story that particularly moved me is that of an eleven-year-old girl. She came to the clinic one day with her father because she needed to have a tooth extracted. The girl seemed frightened and nervous. I tried my best to calm her down and make her feel safe. I tried to gain her trust by gently talking about topics she enjoyed, carefully avoiding any mention of pain or the treatment.
During our conversation, her father said, ‘My daughter is very strong; since her mother died, she has been taking care of her younger siblings.’ At that moment, I felt the weight of responsibility that this young girl carried on her shoulders. How could an eleven-year-old take on the role of a mother for her siblings while also dealing with her own fears and pain?
Despite her fear, she cooperated with remarkable determination and was eager to get the treatment over with. When we were done, she thanked us with a shy smile that confirmed her inner strength.
This girl was more than just a patient; she became a lesson for me and for all of us. She taught me that courage is not the absence of fear, but the presence of action.
What does working for the Green Helmets in the mobile clinic mean to you?
Working in the mobile dental clinic is more than just a job, it is a humanitarian mission and a unique life experience. Every time I travel to the camps and rural areas, I feel that I am getting closer to the people who urgently need help – not only to alleviate their physical pain, but also to offer them psychological support in the face of their difficult living conditions.
This work teaches me every day that medicine is not just about instruments and treatments, but also about building trust, spreading hope and creating deep human connections. I see every patient as an opportunity to make a positive difference and restore a part of humanity that has all too often been lost amid war and displacement.
For me, the mobile clinic means leaving my comfort zone and facing reality with all its challenges. It always reminds me that medicine is essentially about serving others, especially those who do not have easy access to healthcare.
This work has changed me as a person; it has taught me patience, strength and compassion, and shown me how important it is to give, no matter what the circumstances. Every smile I see on a patient’s face and every sincere thank you I hear means the world to me.
What is your personal and family situation?
I am the mother of a three-year-old daughter, separated from my husband and currently living with my family.
Thirteen years of war have had a profound impact on my life, not only as a dentist but also as a human being. I have lived through this experience in all its details: displacement, fear, the struggle for survival. During my medical studies, the roads were blocked and dangerous, and I had to live apart from my family for many years, which intensified my feelings of isolation and psychological pressure.
But these difficulties did not break me; instead, they shaped my personality and made me stronger and more determined. I learned to find my way even under the most difficult circumstances. Every day was a struggle to continue my studies and my work despite the challenges. Fear of danger was part of my everyday life, but I learned to live with it and overcome it in order to achieve my goal. This experience has made me more empathetic and strengthened my determination to offer help, because I fully understand the meaning of pain and suffering.
What are your hopes for the future?
For my country, I hope that it regains its strength, flourishes again and rises from the ruins. I hope that it becomes a place of stability, where justice and equality prevail and everyone has the opportunity to contribute to its reconstruction. Every day that I work and contribute a little to alleviating the suffering of others is a small step towards this great dream.
The questions were asked by Yvonne Neudeck, project manager for the mobile dental clinics
About the project:
The mobile dental clinics provide free dental treatment to internally displaced persons in Syria in the greater Aleppo area. The mobile clinics have been on the road since 2016, 2019 and 2023, and some of them have been converted by us. We at Grünhelme finance the running costs entirely from donations. The work is carried out and organised on site by our partner organisation, the Independent Doctors Association. This summer, we reached the incredible milestone of 100,000 treatments!
