I want to share a most special and eventful visit that took place just last month! I traveled to Jamaica with a team and was able to get the message across of the link between oral health care and an individual’s overall health via lectures and dialogue with the media. Myself and fellow dentist Dr. Boksman went on a Goodwill Mission and were able to oversee our students providing services for people living in under-served communities. It was undoubtedly a fulfilling experience. Over 300 people were treated on one day along with an additional group on the following day. All of these services were provided free of charge and we were told that the services amounted to over 2.3 million JMD! Its great that we were able to be of assistance and reach out to those under-served areas.
(Students perform tooth extractions…)
(Dr. Boksman and I #GetToTheRootOfIt)
Another highlight was the local media’s interest in the University of Technologies School of Oral Health Sciences and their initiatives and overall influence surrounding oral health on island. Stories were published by the main media houses there and it was a great way to get oral health information out to the public as it’s a known issue that there generally isn’t enough emphasis placed on dental care on the island. (Below are links to some of the articles that were also posted online!)
In any event, it was amazing returning to the School of Oral Health Sciences and seeing how much it has grown in terms of its infrastructure, and student population in such a short period of time. It only continues to grow and we are all grateful for the assistance of the donors that contributed for our goodwill mission and beyond because without them none of this would be possible.
I look forward to 2015 when the first batch of Dental Students will be graduating! That will be a GREAT moment and I am sure they will have many more to come.
Thanks for sharing your experience and information in such a nice article. We offer Dental Clinical Studies in Toronto to the foreign dentist, who desire to pass NDEB exam and to work in north america.
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