Welcome to Linea

“For us, the human being comes first,” reads the website of Linea. “We offer a friendly environment where people can walk in, have a consultation, be well-treated and get detailed aftercare. That is the key,” explains Italian Nicola Porro, who, together with Russian dentist Tatiana Melnichenko, runs Linea, Auroville’s second dental clinic-cum-laboratory, in the former Aurelec premises.

Linea has a long history. In 1991 Nicola, then a fledgling Newcomer from Italy with a degree as a dental technician, started Auroville’s first dental laboratory as part of the Auroville Dental Centre. In 1998 it became a separate unit, Linea. Nicola’s work widened. Apart from lab work for the Auroville Dental Centre and for dentists in Pondicherry, Chennai and Bangalore, he started giving training to dental technicians, travelling the length and breadth of India.

But over the years, travelling around grew less satisfactory. When the Auroville Dental Centre increasingly started focusing on working in the villages, employing non-Aurovilian dentists for its work for Aurovilians, Nicola felt that an all-Auroville Dental Clinic should be set-up where “people are treated as family members”. The opportunity arose when Tatiana, a dentist from St. Petersburg with more than 20 years experience, became an Aurovilian. They joined hands. In February 2014, Linea’s laboratory was extended with a dental clinic. In April, it was running full steam. Linea broke even during its first financial year, having treated over 300 Aurovilian patients.

Linea offers not only basic services but also specialist treatments. “Tatiana is an angel with golden hands and can do all normal dental treatments, and I can do all the prosthetic work, but we can’t cover the entire spectrum,” says Nicola. The solution is a close cooperation with specialists from Pondicherry such as implantologist Dr. Jothikumar Kamalakkannan, endodontist Dr. Shivaprasad and dental surgeon Dr Yuvraj. They come on request, mostly in the evenings and on Saturdays.

Dentistry in India has taken big strides and today there is much competition. Many Aurovilians are going to dental clinics in Pondicherry and Chennai. “They provide good services,” says Nicola. “But why go outside if the same quality can now be offered inside Auroville?” Linea’s rates are competitive, on average 70% of those charged in high-end dentistry clinics, particularly on implants treatments.

Starting a second dental clinic hasn’t gone smoothly, says Nicola. There was a lot of resistance from the Auroville Dental Centre and from community members who initially didn’t understand the need for a second clinic. The Dental Centre stopped giving Linea its lab work, and community support for Linea is still under discussion. The Budget Coordination Committee, which pays for dental treatments at the Auroville Dental Centre for Aurovilians without means, hasn’t yet agreed to refer patients to Linea.

Linea’s rates are a bit higher than that of the Auroville Dental Centre. “Linea is a commercial unit that provides a service to the community; it is not an Auroville Service,” explains Nicola. “But quite a few Aurovilians prefer being treated by us.” An additional advantage, he says, is that Linea also does treatments in the evenings and on weekends, which suits people who have a full-time job.

Asked for his vision of Linea’s future, Nicola mentions moving to the new Santé Integral Heath Centre and expanding the Clinic with another dentist. “I’m looking for a trained dentist who wishes to join Auroville and Linea,” he says. The Entry Service has been informed ...