On Wednesday Ryan and I had the opportunity to go with a dental team to a small village way out in the middle of nowhere. In order to get there, we had to drive about an hour and a half, then turn off the main road onto a bumpy, rocky dirt road and go several miles further, eventually arriving in a small community along the ocean-side. We set up in a little building they called the Community Center – two dental chairs, two small generators for power, folding chairs, lots of tools and gauze pads and stuff that I had no idea what it was for.
People started showing up as soon as they saw us arrive – some with dental problems and some just curious and fascinated to see what was going on. Because of time restraints, the team set 45 as the number of patients they could see. In order to get in, they had to pay 10 gouds (25 cents) and show their “receipt.” (To give you an idea, a good wage in Haiti is about $5 per day if you are lucky enough to have a job.)
My job was crowd control – keeping everyone from flooding in the building, especially people who didn’t have a receipt. All day long a huge group of people waited outside, standing in the hot weather, packed tightly together just to see what was going on and hoping they could get in. Haitians can be very loud, so over and over again we tried to tell them to quiet down and back away from the doors, as it was so hot inside already and more people meant more heat. At one point some kind of fight broke out, and there was rock throwing and yelling, and who knows what else. A bit of mid-afternoon excitement, I guess.
One by one the people came in either for a cleaning or for surgery. The majority of the people had a tooth/several teeth that were long past being a cavity and needing a filling, and just needed to be pulled. I am too wimpy to watch up close, but caught glimpses of the dentists yanking teeth from side to side, digging and trying to get them out. The Haitian people are amazingly strong, and I didn’t hear one person complain or yell or anything. They just sat there with their mouths open thankful for the help. One lady got both of her front teeth pulled – imagine that!
All morning when we said they had to pay, only adults came to see us – not one of their kids. After the dentists got through the 45 patients, we then said that we’d take about 40 kids and do fluoride treatments for free. Wow, did the kids arrive out of nowhere as soon as the parents heard. It was so fascinating that not one parent would pay for a child to come. Made me realize how much I don’t understand about Haitian culture.
The kicker for me was seeing the children and the ratty old clothes they were wearing. I had not seen a community this poor until that day. Some of the kids were coming with literally only a shirt on – sitting in the chair to see the dentist with a naked bottom. That would be unfathomable in America. But as you hear over and over again about poor countries, they are rich in joy and friendship and laughter, and there was no self-pity or begging. It was just how life is and they don’t know any differently.
After a long day, we had to pack up and drive back to the city. There was still a crowd of people outside wanting to get in, but sadly we had to say no, we just couldn’t stay any longer. What a blessing it was to have this highly skilled team of dentists volunteer their time and energy and resources to help out strangers in another country. They alleviated pain that those people have probably been dealing with for years and years. I was thankful to be a part of the experience, and blessed to meet the people and share in their joy.
More Pictures…
11 responses to “Ever seen someone show up at the dentist wearing only a shirt?”
This was interesting Ryan. I’ve been trying to keep up with “Haiti” blogs more as I’m planning to return (I’ll come say Hi!).
But I’m curious if you have any theories on why the parents didn’t pay for any of the kids? Were they just doing extractions, in which case maybe none of the kids needed a tooth pulled? Or did some of the kids need treatment too? 10 Gouds doesn’t sound too much…
Nick – No real idea why the parents don’t have the kids come. The dentist did preventative things for the kids. I am not sure what it all included. For sure doing some fluoride treatment to help strength the teeth. 10 HGT is very cheap. We ended up giving the money back to the community leader once we were all done. We just needed to charge something so that we saw the people that were really having pain or needed something. If we didn’t then everyone would come even if they didn’t have any issues 😀
Look forward to seeing you again!
I loved reading about your experience! How many teeth did you take out? Michelle
Michelle –
Great question! There were a lot of teeth that came out! At one point all the dentists were taking out teeth!
There was one person that had her main teeth and fully grown. There was a baby tooth was still there as well… The poor girl. They were able to easily remove her baby tooth – which was good! It’s just crazy to see what they live with.
– Ryan
Been talking about this post at work! Sad that those parents didnt pay for their kids to be seen. 🙁 I guess we have to try and understand the world they are living in and not see it through “American” eyes. Great job guys, it takes courage to participate in something like that.
Melissa, as I read your entry I found myself thinking about the long, bumpy ride to the community, followed by the crowds, heat, fighting, and noise. Your customers did not complain. Then my thoughts went to how we Americans complain about going to the dentist. What a contrast. Thanks for opening my eyes to how good we have it here. I am grateful for the sacrifices you and Ryan are making. You continue to be in our prayers.
Abundant blessings!!! Joyce
Your comments are so true! This group of dentists were probably one of my favorite groups we have had so far.
Hi Ryan and Melissa,
Hope you didn’t get too flooded by the hurricane and that things are drying out.
I met you briefly at Kaliko on July 4 (my wife and I have 2 kids we are in the process of adopting). Your blog is very helpful and informative! I had some questions about cell phones in Haiti. We are coming again next weekend and I just want to verify a few things. Can you please email me back when you get a chance? rbush103@gmail.com …Thanks!
I’m not Haitian so can only guess why the kids weren’t paid for by their parents in the first go at seeing the dentist. Perhaps the child mortality rate is high there so parents don’t spend money on the children for things like dentists. If the kids still have their baby teeth, that could be a reason not to pay for the dentist as those teeth are temporary, anyway. Or maybe the parents are “putting the oxygen mask on themselves first” as we are advised by airlines in an emergency…..the parents have to ensure their own survival so they can continue to take care of their children….. Wondering why you didn’t ask the people there what the reason was?
Susan,
Thanks for your comment! There is a lot of truth to what you said. A lot of parents will put their needs first – and it’s not that they don’t care for their kids b/c they do but I think their perspective is more of “getting the oxygen mask on first”.
– Ryan
Thanks for serving the people of Haiti in this way!