We are a little slow at publishing because we were so tired after a full day of dentistry in the heat and sun.
We got our equipment semi-working. Limping along with less than ideal but far better than most Haitian dentists use. It is obvious that the usual dental treatment has been extraction and everyone is happy that we have repair options.
The pattern of dental disease is quite different from our patient group in Minnesota. Lots of calculous (tarter) on young kids age 5. We usually only see this at age 30 and above. Decay on the chewing surfaces of teeth are the main problem and when caught early it is a simple fix and the tooth can be perfect for decades without much further care.
The improved diet in Grace Village appears to be making a big difference for tooth health. Many serious decay area seem to have stopped and "healed" to some extent because the sugary meals they had been eating have been shifted to fruits and vegetables. They all seem so vibrant too.
So many of the kids are interested in watching us do our work. I'm sure we have some future dentists in the group.
We have seen the potential to train some individuals in simple dentistry so when we are gone, some abilities remain with the people. Troy Livesay, resident in Haiti has been training with us and will take some of our equipment and be able to do some basic things. We will see how that goes. He is eager learner and has gotten some great experience.
All of our patients are so grateful for our care. Some haven't had good experience with the dentist in the past, so it takes some coaxing to get them to cooperate. Smiles after for all!
While exhausting, we drop at the end of the day grateful for the chance to serve. For many of us, this kind of service is new. We are talking about "when we come next time" so everyone is excited about continuing our service into the future.
We all fall in love with the Haitian people. You cannot help but love all the fun smiles and personalities.
We are off for our final push. We are committed to doing our best and "leaving it all on the court" because we know that they will have limited care in our absence. Any time lost means we leave some needed care undone.
We have only 3 more children on the must see list but hundreds left that could have some trouble. We cannot yet do it all but we do what we can and are grateful for the chance.
Dr. Z
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