Internship report | Brazil 2023

During our studies, we both knew that we definitely wanted to do a joint internship abroad immediately after our exams. So, during the 8th semester, we sat down and found out about possible countries and their aid projects and finally sent emails to various organizations. We quickly found something suitable and started planning. We booked our flights, collected donations from various dental companies and got all the important vaccinations done.

But as is often the case, you plan something and it turns out differently. Our internship abroad in Peru had to be cancelled at very short notice due to political unrest there.

Since we still wanted to hold on to our dream, we sent further emails to all the other organizations in South America and asked if we were needed somewhere at short notice and could help. We were all the more pleased when Ruben Beyer, the first chairman of the organization “Zahnärztliches Hilfsprojekt Brasilien eV”, spontaneously agreed to help. Now we had to quickly book new flights and just 3 weeks later we landed in Recife, in the state of Pernambuco.

Since we had so little time for the new preparations, the language barrier was a particularly big challenge for us at the beginning. As already mentioned in other internship reports, the people there actually only speak Portuguese, and you won't get very far with English or even Spanish. That's why we recommend that all of our successors at least familiarize themselves with the basics before departure - it's worth it!

At the beginning we hardly knew a word and had to struggle through the first few days. However, you learn very quickly when you're in a pinch and the people there were very patient with our Portuguese right up until the end.

Another good tip is to download the language offline using the Google Translate app, so you can use your phone at any time, even without WiFi.

In our accommodation, there were also some translations from our predecessors that were helpful for the treatment, which we always had next to us in the treatment room. From day to day, the patients and people understood us better, which made us very happy.

Luckily, our flights with LATAM went smoothly. Thankfully, the ZAD issued us a certificate at very short notice that our donations were duty-free. We put it together with our translated certificate of approval, which we had previously received from the organization, on top of the donations in our suitcase and everything arrived safely.

Because of our originally planned trip to Peru, we had already been vaccinated against yellow fever, typhoid and rabies, but it is best to get advice from the tropical institute beforehand about useful vaccinations - especially if the trip continues afterwards. Fortunately, you do not need malaria prophylaxis for Pernambuco and Recife themselves.
As a German citizen, you do not need a visa for a stay of 4-6 weeks and at least this point is eliminated when organizing in advance.

The sockets in Brazil look different than ours (Type N), but don't let that put you off. They are compatible with our flat Euro plugs (Type C) and you don't need an adapter.

We were picked up from the airport and taken directly to our home for the next four weeks: the Instituto Antonio Pessoa de Queroz (IAPQ for short). This is a facility for visually impaired and blind people.

The large institute is located on the grounds, where the two Irmas Ana Tereza and Lucenir lived, among others. They were our contacts throughout the whole time. The kitchen with the wonderful kitchen fairies was also located in the large building. The ladies prepared delicious traditional northern Brazilian food for us 3-4 times a day.

Behind the institute there is a sports hall where events of some kind took place almost every day and where you could also watch your patients playing blind football.

In the building on the side of the property there is, among other things, the treatment room and right next to it the apartment for us dentists. There is a small kitchen with a dining table and two armchairs and behind a wall are the beds with mosquito nets, as well as a bathroom with a shower. It is also possible to wash your clothes and the jackets in the laundry room during your stay. There really is nothing missing, there is even WiFi, but you still have to get used to your new home in the first few days.

The compressor in the treatment room didn't work for the first two days, so we first familiarized ourselves with all the materials and the unit and looked at what still needed to be organized before we finally started treatment. In general, any problems that arose were dealt with immediately on site and you could already feel how much the project was close to everyone's heart.

Our patients were mainly adults, so the range of treatments was varied: everything from prophylaxis and dental cleaning to fillings and extractions was included. It is particularly important to explain to patients in advance exactly what the next treatment steps are, so as not to frighten them and to gain their trust - which, in addition to the language barriers, is a particular challenge due to the lack of sight. But after just a short time, all the people there grow very close to your heart and impress you with their patience and extreme gratitude for our work!

What we didn't know before we arrived: a Brazilian dentist comes by for 1-2 days every week and tries to give you a helping hand. Lucas was a great help to us because he was able to explain things more thoroughly to patients who were very anxious, arrange for x-rays to be taken at the nearby hospital and prescribe medication, and he was also our contact person for any missing materials.

He is a great support and has a few good tips, especially when it comes to extractions. It was also interesting to talk to him about the differences between Germany and Brazil in terms of treatments and to look over his shoulder as he works.

We also have Lucas to thank for one of our best days there, as he is also responsible for the Santa Tereza ward in the neighboring town of Olinda. It is a supervised school for children from the surrounding favelas. We were allowed to stop by for a day and carry out the children's outstanding treatments. The bright and curious children have already left a special and unforgettable impression on us after just one day.

Although we had a lot of fun treating ourselves after all the stressful years of studying, we definitely didn't miss out on traveling during our stay and we used every weekend to explore the country.

In addition to Recife and Olinda, we also went to Maragogi, Ilha de Itamaraca, Porto de Galinhas and Pipa. Uber and AirBnB were indispensable, worked smoothly and were also very inexpensive. It was very helpful that we bought a Brazilian SIM card from Klaro right at the start. However, you have to know that a Brazilian has to activate the card for you (every Brazilian has been sent a personal PIN by the government. Tourists cannot simply use the normal SIM cards).

A great way to end the evening after a successful day of treatment is to go to the cinema in one of the nearby shopping centres (eg Riomar or Boa Vista). Here, films are shown in the original language at certain times.

Last but not least, we would like to thank all the people who made this trip possible for us, first and foremost the organization “Zahnärztliches Hilfsprojekt Brasilien eV” (Fallstr. 43 81369 Munich / www.zhb-online-de).

Special thanks also go to the companies Coltène, Gebr. Brasseler GmbH & Co (Komet dental), Voco, Alpro Medical GmbH, zahnimarkt (composites from Cavex) and Hu-Friedy Group. Thank you for your generous donations, which were urgently needed locally and made things much easier for us.

During our short time in Brazil, we only had positive experiences and met people we wouldn't want to miss. Anyone who is thinking about doing an internship abroad in Brazil should take a closer look at this project!

Thank you Brazil!

Nora and Julia

By Nora and Julia (University of Tübingen), in Brazil
Period: Summer 2023