Day 5 - Dentistry at it's finest

Today we spent our first day in the dental clinic at the Ranch. Basically, it's three rooms (two "operatories" and a waiting room). If anyone has heard me talk about SHAC, they know my pet term for the dentistry that we do there is "McGyver Dentistry" because you have to improvise so much. Well, this clinic takes it to a different level. We're basically using all donated supplies and equipment. As a result, you have to make due with what you have on hand.

On Mondays, the locals come onto the Ranch and are treated in the dental clinic. Dilcia, the dentist, took us to a chair and started us to work as soon as we arrived. It was a bit chaotic, but I ended up filling a root canal and performing three extractions in the 5 hours we were there. All the procedures went really well and I felt great, although exhausted, once we were done. The locals have to pay for the treatment, but the rates are very inexpensive. Extractions cost about $2.50, amalgam fillings cost about $5, and root canals cost about $25.

After the clinic we came back to the guest house and relaxed some. For dinner, we were given every 8 year old's fantasy: Pizza (sort of) and chocolate milk. The milk was hot, of course, so it tasted more like cocoa and the pizza was a think foccaica type bread with a bunch of leftover veggies and such piled on.

After dinner we headed down to the little girls Hogar (dormatory) and had a blast giving toothbrush instruction. The girls were quite the bunch of hams. They LOVED seeing the camera and posed with their amigas. One of the things that is awesome about the Ranch is that the children are taught to brush their teeth 3 times a day. For the little ones, it becomes completely routine and they do it relatively well.
Tomorrow, we're back to the clinic doing work eclusively on the kids. My guess is that we'll do a lot of sealants, some minor fillings, and a ton of screenings. We'll probably end up taking a lot of photos of the little hams too. Seriously, though, they seem to enjoy all the attention that they get. We were met with a chorus of "buenos noches" and hugs as we left their Hogar.