Open Wide, by Catherine House -- Endeavors, Fall 1999

When Carolina's dental students make a house call to 900 Mexican orphans, hearts open, too.

Open Wide
by Cate House

Kids know the drill. Open wide. An occasional filling. Fluoride. Get a prize.
It's what they expect when they go to the dentist, twice a year.

But what if you lived in a country where there was no routine dental care? Or what if you were an orphan?

Sometimes, the dentist comes to you. Through the UNC Mexico Dental Project, Carolina dental students have been going each July for the last 11 years to an orphanage in Miacatlan, Mexico to provide dental care to more than 900 orphans.

While the project benefits the orphans, it also provides an opportunity for the students to get some hands-on experience applying fillings, sealants, and fluoride applications.

Golnar Jahanmir, a second-year dental student who went on last year's trip, says the project was especially valuable for her because she wants to be a pediatric dentist. "Most of the kids had decay," Jahanmir says. "Mexico doesn't focus on preventive dental care like we do here in the United States, so we had a lot of work to do, a lot of fillings."

The students fund the $12,000 cost of the trip themselves through fundraisers, such as pizza parties, and donations. That pays for their airfare and their accommodations in the orphanage alongside the children.

Upon arriving in Mexico, the students spend a few days in Mexico City, where they do rotations in some of the city's dental clinics. "This was a good opportunity to see the delivery of dental care," says Brian McMurtry, a second-year dental student who also went on last year's trip. "It was interesting to see how the health care systems differ. In parts of Mexico, for instance, there are lots of things that are representative of a third-world country, so the means to help people is different. They don't have the equipment they need. There's just not as much emphasis on dental care."

After their rotations, the dental students head two and a half hours south to the orphanage—Neustros Pequenos Hermanos, which means Our Little Brothers and Sisters. There's one part-time dentist who works at the orphanage, but since there are over 900 kids, she has to prioritize and doesn't have time to do a lot of routine work. So the students help out by making sure each kid gets a cleaning.

With only two chairs and limited instruments, though, it's difficult to get to all of the kids, McMurtry says. "We cleaned all of their teeth, but a lot of the kids needed several fillings, and some needed extractions. We had to pick out the worst cases and relieve their pain."

The students worked in the clinic all day until about 3 p.m. Then they'd play with the kids and help them with their chores. "Some of the kids were hesitant about us at first because going to the dentist isn't all that fun," says McMurtry. "But after we played with them, they warmed up. One kid named Miguel, who had cleft lip and palate, was complaining of pain the morning I helped do a filling for him, but by that afternoon, when we were playing soccer, he came up to me and gave me the biggest hug in the world."

Jahanmir says that while the dental experience was important, it was the time spent with the kids that made the trip special. "They really appreciate what we do for them," she says. "These kids don't have much, but yet they are so giving and appreciative. One boy wanted to give me his T-shirt for helping him."

Since only 10 dental students get to go on the trip each year, the previous year's students select the students for the next year. "It's really hard to choose," says Jahanmir. "I wish everyone had the chance to go because you learn so much and the kids are amazing."