Restoring Smiles in Maruku Village—A Summer of Service and Impact
This summer, AHEAD, Inc. was honored to host an extraordinary dental team in Maruku Village, Tanzania, where we provided much-needed care to hundreds of patients—many of whom traveled from distant villages seeking relief.
Our incredible team included:
Dr. Dexter Haywood, returning for his third volunteer trip
Dr. Tumaini Simon, joining us for the second time
Dr. Carolina Benalal, founder of One World, One Smile (OWOS)
Ramadhan Hassan Mwaimu, a talented Dental Therapist from Afya Bora Complete Dentistry
And myself, (AHEAD Inc. CEO), and a U.S.-trained dentist whose earliest hands-on dental experience came as a student volunteering in Tanzania with AHEAD Inc. in 1988.
Throughout the week, we worked together to provide extractions, restorative fillings, and emergency periodontal care. While many of the cases required tooth removal due to advanced disease, we were also able to deliver vital restorative and preventive treatment—critical steps in improving long-term oral health outcomes.
For me, returning to Tanzania as a licensed dentist was deeply humbling. It was here, as a dental student, that I first learned to perform extractions and discovered the profound impact of community-based care. To now be in a position to serve and mentor others in the same setting is both a personal and professional honor.
We are incredibly grateful to Colgate for their generous donation of toothbrushes and toothpaste, which allowed us to reinforce the importance of daily oral hygiene and empower the community with tools for prevention.
Together, we are working to restore health, hope, and dignity—one smile at a time.
