A dedicated dentist from Reigate travelled more than 6,000 miles to care for the teeth of school children in Cambodia.

Bethan Hatton, from Hartswood Dental Practice, made the trip to Kampong Speu Province organised by UK-based charity Dentaid.

Joined by five other dentists and two dental nurses, Bethan set-up a local clinic offering free dental treatment to school children, some of whom had never visited a dentist before.

Bethan said: “Dentaid teamed up with the One-2-One Charitable Trust in Cambodia, a non-profit organisation designed to support poor and vulnerable people around the country.

"My mother Jacky, who owns Hartswood Dental Practice, has done a lot of work with this charity in the past, and the cause is close to our hearts.

“As soon as we arrived in Cambodia we got to work. On a typical day we would be up at 8am for breakfast, and into the clinic ready to work before 9.

"The local children came to see us in their class groups, and we taught them how to brush their teeth properly and what foods to avoid while they were waiting to be seen.

"Surprisingly, their oral health was much polarised – they either had very good teeth, or they had holes in every tooth! We did a huge amount of extractions, and a few fillings, although the power supply was extremely temperamental!”

“Many of the people we met had never seen a dentist nor owned a toothbrush.

"When we arrived in Cambodia our goal was to see 300 – 350 local residents, but we worked longer hours so that we could see every child in the village school.

"At the end of our trip we had provided care for a total of 576 patients. This is a fantastic achievement and I’m so happy that we have been able to relieve dental pain for so many children and educate them on how to keep their teeth healthy in the future.”

So far, Bethan has raised over £3,000 for Dentaid, which has helped to fund her trip to Cambodia and will contribute towards purchasing dental equipment for countries where dental treatment is unobtainable.

Bethan made the trip in November last year.

If you would like to add to her total, please visit her donation webpage at: www.mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/bethandentaid.