In 1996, Dr. James Carson of Vancouver and I, along with the charity organization Poco a Poco and a team of volunteers, embarked upon a dental mission to the jungles of Guatemala. Supplies for the mission were donated by local dental suppliers and dentists. Mobile dental stations were supplied by the Rotary Club of Canada.
Upon arriving in Guatemala, our Guide transported our team to the quaint town of Antigua. We spent several days touring the numerous orphanages and assisting in dental surgeries in a small hospital adjoining the orphanage. The people of Antigua were very hospitable and welcoming of our services.
After several days of surgeries in Antigua, we packed up and spent several days traveling to our camp in the small town of Livingston at the mouth of the Rio Dulce River. Our accommodations consisted of small A-framed huts and an outhouse on the riverfront. Every morning for 14 days we were escorted down the river about 5km in a small fishing boat, to our houseboat clinic at the Poco a Poco mission site. Patients (one 8 months pregnant) would walk 10 miles from jungle villages to arrive at the dental clinic at 7:00 am to line up for their much-needed dental treatment. If necessary, patients could stay overnight in the tiny hospital on site for monitoring after dental surgery. There was a full time physician on site, much of whose time is spent suturing machete wounds, delivering babies, and running sex education clinics.
Most of our dental treatment was administered to the Guatemalan children. Some of these children required almost all of their primary teeth removed due to severe infection. Some of the luckier ones received a few fillings and a new toothbrush and a lesson on how to care for their newly restored teeth. Most of these patients had never seen a toothbrush let alone a dentist. And it was so fulfilling to provide such needed treatment. However, we were also disappointed that we had such little time because we had barely scratched the surface of the needs of this jungle community. The only consolation was that there was rumor of another dentist from B.C. who was also interested in volunteering their time, money and skills in the not so distant future.
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