A Govan granny is hoping to put a smile on hundreds of Malawians when she takes the trip of a lifetime to sort out the African nation’s dental care.

Caroline Coghlan will be part of a team visiting Malawi on September 12 who aim to provide free dental care to some of the world’s poorest people.

The team, who are part of the project Smileawi, will work under extreme conditions to provide basic treatments we take for granted in the UK every day.

The 48-year-old mum-of-two, who also has two grandchildren, said: “I am really excited to do it but I think it will be an eye opener.

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“The trip will probably make me think about my life a wee bit more too. They have nothing and we take everything for granted in this country.

“These people wait months to get seen then when we do show up they wait hours to be seen.”

The dental nurse, who works at Coia & Associates dental practice in Partick, was inspired to take part in the project after her boss went out to Malawi last year.

She said: “My boss Dr Annible Coia did it last year and he came back, and raved about it.

“It was life changing for him and I thought I would like to do something like that.

“I think it is a really worthwhile cause and I am good at my job.

“My kids are grown up too, and I saw myself in a situation where I could help others so that is why I decided to do it.”

She added: “I feel I am prepared because my boss has told me what to expect. The work side of things and doing the job doesn’t worry me at all.

“They, however, don’t have a lot of electricity so sometimes you are working in the dark and also with head torches.”

Caroline managed to raise £1,700 to fund the two-week trip through donations from her patients, a 10k her work colleagues took part in, a bake off and a charity night.

She thanked everyone who donated to the fundraising drive but the people of Malawi no doubt will be more thankful to have such an experienced dental worker at their disposal.

Read more: Gorbals dentist who reinserted woman's tooth she had thrown in the bin returns to work

Caroline, who has been a dental nurse for 18 years, said: “Five dentists and three nurses went last year, and they did 1,400 extractions.

“I am quite a strong character so I am hopeful I will be able to handle It.”

With the help of The Raven Trust, the project Smileawi was set up by husband and wife dentists Nigel and Vicky Milne from The Hollies Dental Practice in Dunoon.

The project aims to to relieve pain and carry out basic dental treatment on people living in Malawi.

The volunteers also equip, upgrade and maintain existing surgeries in the region, and they recruit, train and support dental staff.

Advice is also issued on best practice when it comes to dental care and the volunteers hand out toothbrushes and toothpaste to people in Malawi.

For more visit https://www.facebook.com/Smileawi2012