Lasting Impressions | Fall 2014

32 © LASTING IMPRESSIONS On March 28, Ede-Nichols led 12 College of Dental Medicine students to the Florida Dental Association (FDA) Mission of Mercy (or FLAMOM) trip to Tampa. “It was the first official and wide-scale (Florida) dental mission trip that was aimed toward people at home,” said Ricky Pan, one of the CDM student- doctors who traveled to Tampa. “I was working with fellow student-dentists, along with hundreds of other dentists, to provide free dental care that included fillings and extractions.” CDM students also regularly participate in similar medical trips to Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, as well as volunteering at events such as Give Kids A Smile, Caring for Miami, and Special Smiles at the Special Olympics. “What I learned most on these trips is that there is a need for dentists in any society,” said Ravi Soni, a CDM student who also has been on trips to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. “The residents come from very low socio-economic backgrounds and cannot afford to seek dental care in their own country. Every day, we would go to different sites, and there would always be groups of a hundred or more just waiting for us to arrive.” Fillings, cavities, cleanings, and pulling teeth are the order of the day on these trips. If there are a lot of patients, the pace is fairly fast. “In school,” said Ede-Nichols, “they’re limited to one extraction. Now they’re doing multiple extractions and working at a pace where they are barely finished with one patient and the next one is in the chair already.” The chance to see patients in unusual settings adds to the students’ education. “It’s extremely impor- tant for our residents and students to have the opportu- nity to treat children using behavior techniques only,” said Alejandro Ibarra, D.D.S., M.S.D., associate professor in the CDM’s Department of Pediatric Dentistry. Last year Ibarra took five pediatric dentistry residents and two predoctoral students to Jamaica where they treated approximately 700 patients, most of whom were children. Lessons learned on the trips continued after long days with patients, said John Aylmer, a CDM student who participated in a Dominican Republic proj- ect. The host school for the trip was Universidad Católi- ca Nordestana, in the town of San Francisco de Macoris. “After a long day of hard work, we sat for lectures to review basically everything we have learned so far in school. You must be attentive to all of the body’s physiology in an attempt to limit the number of compli- cations,” added Aylmer. For the students, one of the hurdles is raising the money for the trips themselves. Money given from the CDM is used to purchase dental equipment, and dona- tions help, as well. Fund-raising helps to provide supplies. And student fund-raising teaches lessons, too. “They have officers, organize themselves, and do fund-raisers to raise money for the trip,” said Ede-Nichols. “They will solicit dental materials or supplies from dental companies. Then, on the trip, all the students are treated the same. They all are assigned the duty of cleaning and sterilizing instruments and are assigned to restock their bags for the next day. They all have to contribute, and they do an amazing job.” Community service is a requirement—and one of NSU’s core values—and the students can participate in a variety of programs. “They are incredibly creative,” said Ede-Nichols. “This year, they came up with a cloth- ing drive to donate to the trip to Jamaica.” Connecting with patients Jason Dale, a CDM student-doctor who assisted in both Jamaica and Tampa, remembers many discover- ies on his first trip. “My Jamaica trip was one of my first experiences doing hands-on dentistry. With that came the excitement and joy of helping others, and NSU dental student Jessica Sung takes care of a patient.