Not all heroes wear capes… our Unsung Heroes series celebrates ordinary people doing extraordinary work. Today it’s Mitesh Badiani, 58, of Devon, whose SmileStar charity offers free dental care across the globe.
What do you do?
I founded SmileStar in 2010 to provide care to communities in need. We’ve helped more than 100,000 patients since.
What care do you offer?
We get people, who might’ve never seen a dentist, out of pain. We mainly do tooth extractions. Some patients walk all night, past lions and hyenas, to get to our clinic.
How did it start?
I met a teacher from Uganda. He asked if I could do work in his village. In 2009, I went there with my children and former wife. Word spread and safari companies, wanting to give back to communities they operated in, got involved to host our volunteers. We now work in 14 countries, including India, Kenya, Zambia and Tanzania. We can set up a clinic anywhere in the world in 15 minutes.
What’s a common tooth issue?
Dental decay. In Africa, some corporates give out free sugary drinks. Children sip and hold it in their mouth to make the ‘treat’ last, which rots their teeth.
What’s the worst case you’ve seen?
A man with jaw cancer. It was eating away at his bone. He said he was waiting to die. We funded his treatment. He now has a titanium jaw and is back in work.
How do you deal with stressful situations?
With humour. In Sierra Leone, a man who claimed to be a former West Side Boys gang member tried to skip the queue. Everyone was afraid of him. But I said: ‘I’m from Britain, we queue.’ He waited and we removed his two rotten teeth.
How do you fund the charity?
We are self-funding. Volunteers – dentists and non-health professionals – pay about £3,000 plus air fare. It’s hard work but there’s time for fun.
Tell me more?
In Congo volunteers go gorilla watching. While enjoying an evening G&T, you might see elephants. It’s an incredible experience.
What keeps you going?
I love what I do. I’ve treated about 45 tribes worldwide and even been made honorary elder of two!
And you also treat veterans?
Yes. We provide free dentistry for 600 ex-Royal Marines. I asked every dentist I knew to treat two veterans each, pro bono long-term. Everyone said yes.
Donate at smilestarcharity.com & instagram.com/smilestarcharity
