For Huda Eraif, there’s joy in travelling the world to show children how a simple toothbrush can improve their dental health. Since 2023, she has paid out of her own pocket for the privilege, joining overseas missions with Global Dental Relief. The US-based non-profit organisation shepherds teams of dental professionals and general volunteers into underserved communities around the world. For the past 25 years, it has provided free treatment to children who might otherwise have little or no access to care.

“I've always wanted to volunteer, and be able to do a bit of my work for people that need help,” said Ms Eraif, a hygienist with Paget Dental Group. “That was always on my radar.”

It was her preference for community work that brought her to Bermuda. In 2013, she was hired by the Government to work with the Department of Health. After her contract ended, she moved into private practice.

“I didn't want to leave Bermuda. I loved it so much,” she said.

A decade later, Global Dental Relief gave her another opportunity to work directly with people in need. Joining its missions meant using her vacation time and paying her own way, but Ms Eraif welcomed the chance to volunteer.

Her first trip was to Guatemala, where she was one of about 20 volunteers who spent five days treating 714 patients, providing preventive and restorative dental care valued at more than $200,000.

The missions focus on treating children and teaching them habits that can stay with them for life. Teams typically include at least four dentists, two dental hygienists and a mixture of dental students and general volunteers.

“As a dental hygienist, I believe that every child in the world should have access to medical care, dental care, especially. What I get out of it is helping people, and being able to treat people that don't have the means. My big thing is also teaching them how to take care of their teeth,” Ms Eraif said.

“The trips are once a year. I'm not going to be present in their life every six months. But if I get them the right tools and show them how to take care of their teeth, then I'm pretty confident that they can at least understand the difference between what's a healthy snack and a not healthy snack: ‘Should I be brushing my teeth after this?’ or ‘How long should I be brushing my teeth for?’”

After that first experience, she signed up for a mission to Mexico in 2025 and went to northeastern India for two weeks in May.

Among the 18 volunteers on that trip were four dentists, with Ms Eraif serving as the only hygienist. Together, they treated about 448 patients, carrying out examinations, cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants, fillings and extractions.

Global Dental Relief arranges the clinics through relationships it has built in the communities it serves, while volunteers pay for their flights and accommodation.

Her motivation is rooted in the belief that healthcare should not depend on where a child lives or what their family can afford.

“A lot of these communities are poor or don't have access to dental care,” Ms Eraif said.

Treatment is only part of the work. Because volunteers may see a child just once, dental health education is key. Children move through several stations during a clinic, and the lessons are reinforced at each one.

“These children are being taught on that visit, that one-day visit. They're being taught at least four or five times: ‘Show me how you brush your teeth. How do you floss your teeth?’” she said. “Every time, we make sure: ‘Show me again how you brush your teeth.’ We emphasise that.”

The children are often intrigued by the visiting volunteers and their unfamiliar equipment. In northeastern India, some had never seen people with blonde hair and blue eyes.

“Generally they're very sweet, very nice people. They're accepting, and they do want help and that's what I like,” Ms Eraif said. “I like working with people that want your help. It makes a big difference.”

At the end of every mission, the dental hygienist returns to Bermuda with renewed energy and appreciation for comforts that can easily be taken for granted.

“I gain a lot from them. They teach us how we really and truly focus on the wrong things. You come back and you're fulfilled: ‘I'm so lucky that I have a faucet that I can go to and open it, and I have clean running water,’” she said.

“It grounds you. It humbles you.”

Global Dental Relief’s missions are open to people without clinical qualifications as well as dentists and hygienists. General volunteers can entertain children, organise supplies, sterilise equipment and assist with the operation of the clinic.

“There's always a job to do,” Ms Eraif said. “They always need a helping hand.”

Her plan is to join the nonprofit’s work in Cambodia next year. Anyone interested in volunteering can find more information and a calendar of upcoming missions at globaldentalrelief.org.