A DETERMINED dental nurse got her teeth into a mercy mission to help refugees fleeing war torn Syria.

Debbie Coyle from Port Glasgow was part of a team who provided emergency treatment at Greek camps.

It was an eye-opening experience for the 35-year-old as she met people whose lives have been turned upside down. 

The trip has made such an impact on her that she’s planning to return next year.

She told the Tele: “This trip has changed my life and is the best thing I’ve ever done.

“It has made me see the world a little bit differently.

“I don’t think people realise how bad life is for the refugees in these camps.

“I want to raise awareness of their plight and also help change how it is for them, as it’s just horrible.

“I didn’t want to leave and I’m now desperate to go back.”

Debbie jumped at the chance to volunteer alongside her former colleague Cammila Omair with Dentaid — an organisation which sends treatment teams to some of the world’s poorest countries. 

During the four-day mission, she worked from dawn until dusk as part of a team extracting teeth and inserting fillings.

She also handed out thousands of toothbrushes and supplies of toothpaste kindly donated to her from all the dental practices throughout Inverclyde.

Debbie said: “We worked in a big shipping container which was converted into a dental surgery — it was such a change from working in a surgery over here.

“During the first couple of days we helped people who were in pain so we did a lot of surgical extractions.

“We had to prioritise people who were in pain.

“I also did a lot of oral health education too.

“Lots of the kids had early signs of tooth decay.”

After treating people all day Debbie and the team would then spend hours chatting to refugees through a translator and hearing about their harrowing stories.

She said: “I met a 34-year-old woman and her son from Syria who was only six.

“She told us how they fled the country after her son had been shot in the head by an Isis sniper and he still had part of the bullet in his head.

“She showed us her son’s head wound and you could see it was infected but she said he had been denied treatment in Greece because she can’t afford it.

“She cried as she told us that her son had tried to commit suicide.

“When I heard this I burst out sobbing in front of her.

“It was the worst story I heard.

“I couldn’t believe that children are going through that.”

Debbie says she was shocked by the conditions in the camps.

She added: “Seeing a refugee camp in real life is much different from what you see on TV.

“You realise these refugees are people just like us who had good jobs and homes before they left their country. 

“There are doctors, engineers, people who have their own businesses — all sorts of people. 

“Their tents are damp and disgusting so the kids are ill with lung infections

“There are also mice and rats running about and despite the cold temperatures the children are running about with no shoes or jackets.

“I think the UK needs to do a lot more than it is doing.

“It’s a terrible situation.”

Despite the horrendous conditions, Debbie said that the refugees were so kind towards her.

She said: “They have got nothing but they were so welcoming.

“When we took people’s teeth out they were so grateful that they would invite you to their tent for a coffee.”

Debbie campaigned to raise money to cover her travel costs to Greece and is grateful to everyone who supported her.