Our Honduras Dental Humanitarian trip in February 
was a success and a wonderful experience! Thank you so much for all of you who donated! Our team consisted of 9 people including myself: 3 dentists, 2 dental students, 3 others who helped in the clinic as well as with the community aspects. The objective of our trip was to provide dental services—cleanings, fillings, and extractions—to the community of El Rosario (primary) and Los Planes and Los Oreros (secondary). We also followed up with El Rosario Health and Development Committee, Library Committee and gather information on needs for: latrines, scholarships, specific patients as well as deliver medications and school books.
Overall, patients were very receptive that our team could do fillings, unfortunately our portable unit was a bit unreliable and we lost the ability to provide this service after five days. There was an increased demand for cleanings, but there were still some pretty bad dental cases, as most patients needed multiple extractions. This was the first time that the team brought the patients from Los Planes and Los Oreros to the clinic, which was a successful endeavor. It was decided to bring the patients to the clinic because: With five dentists and only two portable chairs to bring, we would be able to serve more patients in the same amount of time at the clinic. Also, clinic conditions were more sanitary due to access to running, clean water and supplies, while lessening the burden of driving out and lugging equipment and supplies.
We saw a total of 245 patients during the 10 days we worked. The patients were very nice and very thankful for our services. I now have learned a few more dental phrases in Spanish. We all stayed in a bunk house with bunk beds next to the clinic. The latrine was an interesting experience. The outdoor shower kept us clean, but the water was a little on the chilly side. It was a whole other experience being awoken by the loud sounds of roosters, cows, dogs, horses, screaming kids, etc. early every morning. Meals were cooked for us by the local cooks, except for a couple of the nights, and laundry was stone washed and hung to air dry by them too. There were so much beans, rice, and tortillas everyday. On top of all the dentistry, we managed to be able to go on runs on most mornings with the cows and the dirt roads, and go on a couple of different hikes. El Rosario was a cute little village up in the mountains. It was about a 3 hour drive from our first and last night stay at The Banana Inn in La Lima by the San Pedro Sula Airport. I would totally go again! Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Pictures are uploaded to Picasa: https://picasaweb.google.com/107148178637054294824
