Four dental hygiene students took their skills to Guatemala. Courtesy Photos
RANGELY | Colorado Northwestern Community College Dental Hygiene Director Tiffany Douglas took four students on a mission trip to Guatemala where they performed dental hygiene care for remote villages. The opportunity allows the students to engage their skills and theories in a challenging environment that doesn’t include the convenience of a clinic with up-to-date tools and even the first-world luxury of running water. The site is remote, the weather conditions are hot and humid, and the patients commonly sit in lawn chairs for their exams. On campus at Colorado Northwestern Community College, dental hygiene students utilize powered tools to remove clean their patients’ teeth. In Guatemala, students became more familiar with their hand tools. They used cups instead of suction to help the patients rinse during the cleaning procedure and a headlamp as their source of lighting, which is inflexible compared to the campus clinic.
The mission opportunity did not include a dentist on site. The primary services students performed included deep cleanings on people who had never had one before and who were referred to the doctors on-site for dental infections and abscesses. The students applied SDF (Silver Diamide Fluoride) on hundreds of teeth. This medication arrests or stops decay from worsening until they can get to a dentist. Many of Guatemala’s patients only see a dental care professional; once it is too late to save the tooth, they receive an extraction. Some children had never used a toothbrush and were taught to keep the toothbrush and their teeth clean.
Communication was another barrier the students had to overcome. The patients did not speak English. The mission provided an interpreter, but sometimes critical information can get lost in translation. Douglas praised her bilingual students. “I have such an appreciation for those that are bilingual, and it instills a desire to learn another language. That is such a valuable skill and quality,” Douglas said.
Sadie Shake, a dental hygiene student who went on the trip, said, “This was an amazing experience. I was able to learn to triage better and focus on better what would help the patient the best. I learned great time management skills, and my skills as a dental hygienist greatly improved. We saw many unusual things that you mostly only read about in books. I was able to tie good oral hygiene to get a healthier baby and mother to an expecting mother. There is so much to be learned from each patient. [Guatemalans] are tough, so it made me realize how lucky we are here to give the best care possible to our patients!“
The dental hygiene program at CNCC is in the process of seeking accreditation as a bachelor’s degree program. The bachelor’s program will include a humanitarian project that will offer the opportunity for a mission trip to Guatemala, although it will not be mandated.
“We share a few moments with patients, and I hope we can instill in our students a greater sense of compassion and understanding for all those we serve. We just do not know what others deal with, and to make our patients feel like they are the most important thing to us for a few moments when they are in our chairs is what I hope students will carry into practice,” Douglas said, highlighting purpose of a hygienist’s work and service.
BY KATIE FAYE KING | Special to the Herald Times
