It was 7 a.m. Friday, August 20th and time to open the doors of
our first dental mission in Burlington, North Carolina! Our wonderful team
of volunteers was stationed around twenty mobile dental chairs waiting for
their first patients to sit down and receive free treatment.
Carlos and Reina were more than ready to have their family visit our
dental clinic. After reading an advertisement in the newspaper a few days
before, they knew they would have to get their five children up early
to take a place in line and be seen. It had been years since they had
been able to afford to visit a dentist. This family wasn’t going
to miss out on this opportunity.
A typical dentist office wouldn’t have had the room to let your
whole family watch you get a cleaning, but that’s what Carlos, Reina
and their kids did. Dad and mom were treated in chairs close together.
Much to the dental volunteer’s delight, the kids were very inquisitive.
When it was all over, everyone except the two youngest had had their teeth
cleaned. Carlos also had one tooth filled.
“We’re really glad that we came,” said Reina. “We’re
thankful to all of the people who donated their time. We wouldn’t
have been able to get it done otherwise. A regular clinic would be very
expensive.”
Over the 2-day dental clinic, the team of 122 medical and support volunteers
worked hard in providing an amazing 615 dental services to 301 patients.
Dental services included x-rays, cleaning, extractions and fillings. The
need was so great in the area that when the team came early Saturday morning,
the line was out of the door and down the block!
This dental mission’s partners included Dr. Slott’s Open
Door Clinic, Church of the Holy Comforter and the Boy Scouts of America.
We couldn’t have had a successful mission without their faithfulness.
Volunteers are crucial to these outreaches! As our fall
mission schedule quickly approaches, we still need dental professionals
to volunteer!
Many like Carlos and Reina in the United States can’t afford basic
dental care. Whether a dental professional or not, you can help us continue
to bring free care to the hurting. Imagine being the parent whose child
is suffering from a toothache and you can’t afford to get it fixed.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Be a part of OBI's ongoing medical relief efforts by making an online contribution to help those suffering from extreme poverty and sickness.
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