'I taught dentistry at the largest refugee camp'

Mr Lugo (middle) has spent time working at a refugee camp in Bangladesh

An oral surgeon has shared how inspired he has felt carrying out dental work on people at the world's largest refugee camp.

Antonio Gagliardi Lugo, 39, originally from Venezuela but now living in Southampton, has worked at Practice Plus Group Hospital for the last five years.

But he has recently been sharing his expertise by mentoring dentists and helping patients at Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, after getting involved with the Refugee Crisis Foundation charity.

Mr Lugo said he saw around 90 patients a day while encouraging dentists to carry out things like oral cancer screenings.

"It's about giving people skills and making them self-sufficient," he said.

"They are already amazing and very well-prepared but then you give them some tips and trivia to play with to re-energise them up and improve their skills, so that they can feel like they are giving more than what they are already giving."

Mr Lugo added there are around three million people living in the camp who have been displaced from Myanmar and it has grown in a "very disorganised way", so he was glad to help.

"You can see how people are living in small huts and the conditions are not very good, the services are very limited, but the people have a will to keep going, it is very inspiring," he said.

Mr Lugo has enjoyed making a difference to patients and dentists in Bangladesh

"A tooth out is a bad experience but it's funny when you do such a bad experience to a person and they smile back at you and say, 'thank you so much as you're taking away the pain from me'.

"Tooth pain can develop into a life-threatening situation where it can produce an infection, so it's not something you should take for granted, which loads of people do."

During his trip, he joined a small team of three dentists, two assistants and a driver to help them transport dental equipment to the clinics.

The team then treated patients with extractions, oral cancer screening, topical application of fluoride and preventative dental care.

Being from Venezuela, Mr Lugo says he understands the importance of providing help and support with dental care.

He said: "I'm some sort of refugee myself. My entry point was different, but I know how important it is to get a chance and have access to healthcare."

Hospital director John Crisp said it was "remarkable" Mr Lugo has been "so passionate about mentoring" dentists both in Hampshire and helping Refugee Crisis Foundation in his spare time.

"We know that his work is making a big impact on people's lives and we are proud to support his endeavours as everyone should be able to access timely, pain and infection-free oral and dental health," he said.