{"id":1101,"date":"2018-05-30T19:49:09","date_gmt":"2018-05-30T19:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitedsmiles.com\/?page_id=1101"},"modified":"2021-03-17T16:23:36","modified_gmt":"2021-03-17T16:23:36","slug":"haiti-trip","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/unitedsmiles.com\/haiti-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Haiti Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Holy Family Dental Clinic \u2013 Cerca Cavajal<\/b><\/span><\/p>

My first <\/span>dental mission <\/span>trip to Haiti was in 2015. <\/span>I had no idea how much it would impact me. As a practicing dentist in Richmond, VA, this trip was a lifelong dream of mine. <\/span>I was <\/span>eager<\/span> to use my dental experience to help <\/span>the<\/span> people in Cerca Carvajal.\u00a0<\/span>Following <\/span>a brief meeting with our <\/span>Haitian<\/span> dentist <\/span>Dr. Tony<\/span>, I was ready to <\/span>begin work the next day. Dr. Tony had a full schedule of patients waiting. I admit, I was more than a little shocked by the conditions of the dental clinic. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Maybe I had been spoiled by my pristine and well-equipped American dental office. Before coming to the US, I had practiced in India for four years. But the conditions in Haiti were unlike anything I had ever seen in India or the US, and so was the overwhelming need. I have great appreciation and respect <\/span>for the parishioners at St. Edward Church who generously contributed both time and money to make this dental clinic in Haiti happen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

My first patient was <\/span>a<\/span> handsome teenager. <\/span>He had dreamed of joining <\/span>the police department, but<\/span> was <\/span>rejected <\/span>for failing <\/span>the medical examination. <\/span>Decay caused him to lose four of his upper anterior teeth, and he had no money to replace them<\/span>. <\/span>In my American clinic, we could offer several options to patients in a similar situation \u2013 implant, bridge, or partial. I was saddened by his story and frustrated that his dream was ruined by a situation I could easily fix in my American clinic. <\/span>I wanted <\/span>so much <\/span>to help <\/span>him<\/span>.\u00a0 Dr. Tony <\/span>alerted <\/span>me, <\/span>\u201cDon\u2019t feel bad<\/span><\/i>. This <\/span><\/i>is your first patient and <\/span><\/i>he\u2019s<\/span><\/i> one of the better patients <\/span><\/i>you will see <\/span><\/i>today.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 <\/span>As a <\/span>charity clinic<\/span>, their main focus was cleaning, fluoride applications, and necessary extractions. Over that day and the days that followed, due to overwhelming need and limitations of the clinic, I could only offer exams, cleanings, and extractions.<\/span><\/p>

When I left Haiti, <\/span>I was heavy in heart. It was frustrating to see such need and be so limited in helping. They needed a better clinic.\u00a0 On my way home, Dr. Tony and I stopped<\/span> at a dental <\/span>supplier<\/span> in Port Au Prince <\/span>to check prices<\/span>. <\/span>The dental fund for our trip was minimal, but I knew the committee was committed<\/span>.\u00a0 <\/span>Back at my Richmond office, I couldn\u2019t escape the vast difference in conditions.\u00a0 My thoughts remained on Haiti\u2019s needs. <\/span>\u00a0I decided to buy a new dental <\/span>chair for the Haiti clinic, so I contacted Dr. Tony. He made the purchase and sent pictures of the chair.\u00a0 At last I felt like I was making even a small difference.<\/span><\/p>

About four months later, I got a<\/span> devastating <\/span>message from Dr. Tony and Fr. KeKe. <\/span>There had been <\/span>a fire in the dental clinic and the new dental chair <\/span>was badly <\/span>damaged. My heart <\/span>dropped. My disappointment made it <\/span>hard to continue with my patients that day<\/span>. I realized I was more saddened by the loss of that Haiti chair than one from my own office.\u00a0 <\/span>I asked Dr. Tony to check<\/span> on <\/span>the warranty, <\/span>but the Haiti warranty was of no value. It turned out that the chair was still usable, but all the features were lost due to electrical damage from the fire<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

In 2016 and again in 2018, I made two additional dental mission trips to Haiti. Aside from exams, fluoride applications, and necessary extractions, I couldn\u2019t do nearly as much as I\u2019d hoped.\u00a0 Now my dream is that one day <\/span>we will have a decent dental clinic in Haiti with sufficient materials and equipment to <\/span>handle all their needs. The humble and kind people of Haiti <\/span>are God\u2019s children too. They deserve <\/span>the best I can give<\/span>.\u00a0 Our clinic <\/span>is the only dental clinic<\/span> in the entire town of Cerca Carvajal, population of about 40,000 people. I know there is much to be done.\u00a0 I believe the <\/span>Almighty Lord will provide a way for us <\/span>to improve the conditions of the dental clinic <\/span>and improve the health of Haiti\u2019s people. I don\u2019t want any other broken-hearted teenagers to lose their dream due to lack of simple dental care. The lovely people of Haiti deserve much more.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Holy Family Dental Clinic \u2013 Cerca Cavajal My first dental mission trip to Haiti was in 2015. I had no idea how much it would impact me. As a practicing dentist in Richmond, VA, this trip was a lifelong dream of mine. I was eager to use my dental experience to help the people in … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"generate_page_header":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHaiti Trip - United Smiles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/unitedsmiles.com\/haiti-trip\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Haiti Trip - United Smiles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Holy Family Dental Clinic \u2013 Cerca Cavajal My first dental mission trip to Haiti was in 2015. I had no idea how much it would impact me. As a practicing dentist in Richmond, VA, this trip was a lifelong dream of mine. 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