text: Solventum Greater China aspires to bring better health to everyone by helping kids in rural areas get dental care
  April 01, 2024 | Read time: 3 min
  Teeth. They help us nourish our bodies and express ourselves with a smile. They’re essential to our overall health — even, and especially, as children. Left untreated, conditions like tooth decay can significantly and negatively impact a child’s ability to eat, speak, learn and sleep. Early access to preventive and curative dental care is critical to lifelong oral health.
  With a passion for bringing lifelong oral health to all, our oral care team in Greater China aimed to make this type of preventive care accessible to kids in rural areas.
  Helping kids in rural China get the care they need
  According to China’s 4th National Oral Epidemiological Survey, children in rural China have a 73% caries (or tooth decay) rate with only a 3% treatment rate. This demographic presented a prime opportunity for our Solventum team to get involved, especially given our commitment to improving health for everyone.
  The Chinese government had similar aspirations.
  Healthy China 2030 is China’s national blueprint to improve public health in China. Together, fairness and justice make up one of four core principles in the plan. Rural areas of the country are given special attention to promote equal access to basic public health services.
  Building team confidence and pride
  Our team partnered with The China Oral Health Foundation and set up a Charity Walk campaign on WeChat — an instant messaging, social media and mobile payment app — so employees, friends and customers could join the walk via WeChat moments.
  Participants were awarded for how far and frequently they walked. Every day, walkers who reached 5,000 steps or more could donate their steps to receive between one and 20 renminbi (RMB). 10 RMB provided one set of oral care products for children. 100 RMB provided one child with comprehensive oral disease prevention services.
  Sue Jia, a sales manager in medical solutions, led with the second highest donation, equivalent to 16 oral disease prevention services.
  “I was proud to support children every day,” Sue said. “It was fun to share progress with colleagues and encourage each other. I’m grateful Solventum provided us a platform to do good.”
  Her colleague Zenki Shen, a business development manager in medical solutions, maintained his spot in the top 10 throughout the entire campaign, donating steps almost every day and inviting friends to join.
  “It felt good to do your part to help children from rural areas and, at the same time, embrace a healthy lifestyle,” he said.
  The Walk went on for four months and concluded successfully in February. A total of 2,051 participants, including 35 teams, joined the walk. On average, each walker donated 83 RMB.
  Together, our Solventum team donated 170,000 RMB, which is the equivalent of over 24,000 U.S. dollars (USD), to provide free dental prevention services, as well as treatment with our products, to over 2,000 children in Qinghai and Shanxi provinces.
  I have been working in the dental industry for more than 15 years, and I love it. Children’s oral health prevention is so important, and I’m glad this project is helping more people see the value of prevention, in addition to treatment.
  Keane Wu, sales supervisor in oral care
  In partnership with his colleague Vivian Xu, an activation marketer in oral care, Keane organized one of the biggest walking teams with 116 team members, including the whole South China OCSD restoration team and their friends.
  “The whole South China restoration team participated,” says Vivian. “It’s meaningful to bring oral health prevention to people in rural areas. And the campaign did more than benefit the kids. It benefited our South region team, too. It’s been a great reason to come together, and this made us an even closer team.”