WARRENDALE Dentist, Dr Andy Rossiter, is flying to the West African country of Liberia on Friday to bring dental relief to many grateful patients aboard the Mercy Ship. This will be his ninth trip to the former war-torn region offering life-changing services free of charge.

Andy's most recent visit to Liberia was in 2008 where he saw the impact of war on people's primary health care. Only last week Liberia's former President Charles Taylor was found guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes in Sierra Leone's civil war by a UN-backed court in The Hague. Amidst all the civil unrest and thuggery, basic dental care has been near non-existent. And in Liberia, with a population of 11,000,000 and just three dentists, the consequences can be dire.

The Mercy Ship is a Christian organisation that emphasises 'doing', rather then 'evangelising'. "There is an incredible need in these places," Andy told the Gazette as he prepared to leave. "Liberia is still recovering from 14 years of civil war. I saw one patient who had been suffering with toothache for 14 years." With our six monthly check-ups, it's hard to comprehend that sort of enduring pain. Andy described another patient whose tooth was so infected she couldn't even open her mouth. Instead, she was treated through the side of her mouth. The relief from being free from pain is probably beyond words.

Time and again Andy comes across dental conditions that, if treated earlier, are relatively routine, as in the West. In West Africa, however, where dental treatment is rare and often hard to access, these conditions go untreated and can beome life-threatening. Income is often less than a dollar a day so dental treatment is just not within the grasp of many people. Dentists like Andy on the Mercy Ship can make a real physical difference.

"Over there we are the last line of defence. And professionally we get to see and do things we wouldn't normally do in my practice here." Attention and care towards hygiene and cross-contamination are as rigourous in these dental clinics as in any you would find in the West.

Andy will be in Liberia for two weeks working alongside four other dentists seeing a huge turnover of patients. A working day starts around 6 am straight through to 5pm, often in searing heat. While a translator is always present, Andy has learned to say 'open your mouth' in many West African languages!

His experience in the region also informs his own practise back here in Ross. Far from being intolerant with a patient coming in with a chipped tooth, he finds he is even more compassionate and patient. It is from such niggling conditions that, untreated for months and years, can ultimately cause afflictions he regularly sees in West Africa, and, untreated, can ultimately be fatal.

Everyone on the ship, which is a community of doctors, surgeons, cooks, administrators, accountants etc, pays to be there. The ship, the African Mercy, is the biggest NGO hospital ship in the world. These days, high security is also a must, and the Mercy Ship has ex-Gurkha guards on hand.

Andy is grateful for the support from family and workplace colleagues at Warrendale who have been fully supportive of his work on the Mercy Ship. "It's been brilliant for the practise," said Warrendale owner and fellow Dentist Chris Brown, "it gives a different outlook on life. It's really about helping people by donating your time."

There are lots of ways that people can support the work of Mercy Ships such as financial donations, fundraising, volunteering and much more.

Your support will help Mercy Ships save lives and improve the quality of life for poor people in developing nations.