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Dentists on a mission of service

They put grins, sometimes toothless, on the faces of those who need it most.

By PAULETTE LASH RITCHIE
Published October 4, 2006

INVERNESS - Boiling dental instruments in a metal pot atop an open fire was the only sterilization option Edgar Pichardo, D.M.D., and his students had during their recent trip to the Dominican Republic.

Pichardo, who is part of the Citrus Dental Association, traveled with four other dentists and 29 dental students under a missionary program sponsored by the University of Florida College of Dentistry and facilitated by the Santa Lucia Roman Catholic Parish in the western Dominican Republic.

The group arrived Aug. 19 and traveled to the Las Mantas de Farfan area, where it was divided into five groups, each headed by a dentist. They stayed until Aug. 26.

The second-year through fourth-year dental school students gave up a break between terms for the experience.

"To me, that said a lot about my students," Pichardo said.

They lived primitively, soaking themselves in mosquito spray at night, dodging giant spiders and subsisting on red beans and rice, which they provided but was cooked by the appreciative locals.

They took turns with a mosquito net.

"I took my battery-operated fan from Wal-Mart," Pichardo said. "It was my best investment ever."

People of all ages lined up for the limited services that were available in an area with no running water or electricity.

They were given fluoride treatments, toothbrushes, toothpaste and information on oral care. The doctors and students were able to perform extractions.

The groups moved throughout the area, going to orphanages, jails and different communities.

Many people had heavily decayed teeth removed, with a few losing all their teeth.

Pichardo, 34, said that patients who left without their teeth left happy because they were no longer in pain.

"They come in in sorrow and leave with a smile," Pichardo said.

Most patients lost four or five teeth. Many wait a year for the dentists to come and relieve them of their dental misery.

Part of the problem, Pichardo said, is poor nutrition and lack of regular dental care.

Sugar cane farming is common and people chew on the stalks. Many people can't afford or can't get to the nearest dental care facility.

There is very little transportation and the roads are poor.

"We worked in the churches during the day and at night we stayed there," Pichardo said. "We had to work with flashlights. Our suction was gauze and little medicine cups. Our sterilization was boiling water."

With no dental chairs, patients sometimes sat on church pews while the dentist stood with one foot on the floor and the other on a pew behind the patient. That way, the patient could brace against the dentist's knee.

Sometimes, Pichardo would have a patient lie with his or her head in his lap so he could work on the teeth from above - awkward conditions, at best.

The dentists and students say about 1,850 during their stay.

This was Pichardo's third such trip. He went to the Dominican Republic in 1999 as a student and to Guatemala in 2003.

"I just love helping people," he said. "I feel there's a real need around the world for our dental profession. It's so rewarding, so much gratification, in helping people who need our services so much."

Pichardo hopes his students benefit as well. "It's just a great experience to show students how fortunate we are here," he said. "It gives you a feeling of appreciation, a gratitude of what we have here in the United States."

[Last modified October 3, 2006, 22:41:27]